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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821696">Falling A-Z</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaBaker852/pseuds/AmandaBaker852'>AmandaBaker852</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ABC fic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, Drama, F/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Strong Language</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:14:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,384</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaBaker852/pseuds/AmandaBaker852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Her flight to London was the beginning of something special but she didn’t realize that until later. In other words, a romance told through the alphabet. Modern AU. McCoy/OC. WARNING: Contains mature content.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Star Trek belongs to ViacomCBS and Paramount, not myself. No copyright infringement is intended with this work.<br/><strong>This is a warning that this story contains mature content.</strong><br/>Thank you to my beta reader lawsomeantics38 for making this story better.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter One</p>
<p>	A is for Aeroplane</p>
<p>	Stephanie had deliberately chosen a window seat on this flight from Berlin to London. Although the cloudy skies meant she could rarely see the landscape below, it was still nice to get the sensation of travelling. The aisle seat on her row contained a portly woman who hid her narrow face behind her grey tablet. Beside her sat a tall man with a ruggedly handsome face. His dark hair was long enough to fall over his forehead but not long enough to come to his shoulders. The stubble around his jaw was short enough not to look too unkempt. His muscular shoulders and lean arms tampered down to a trim waist and long legs. Stephanie looked away before he noticed her scrutiny.</p>
<p>	‘What are you thinking? It’s really not appropriate to ogle a stranger. Besides, you know that looks aren’t everything in a relationship. What do you need a man for anyways? You have a great job that you enjoy, a nice flat close to the tube station, and an energetic Labrador puppy that keeps you company. As for more intimate desires, your vibrator will never cheat on you,’ Stephanie thought with viciousness as she recalled how her last relationship with Anthony had ended. Even after all this time, thirteen months later, Stephanie never regretted tossing all of his things in the rubbish bin the morning after the massive row that had ended things. Anthony had never came back for them, so why shouldn’t she get rid of the reminders of the good times they used to have? Her flat was a comfortable size but she didn’t have the room for trinkets that would just gather dust.</p>
<p>	Soon after the flight attendants had gathered the rubbish from lunch, Stephanie felt a weight on her shoulder. She glanced down to see the head of the man beside her using her arm as a pillow as he slept. He looked so comfortable that she didn’t want to move him. His face looked even more attractive in sleep. ‘Stop it,’ she admonished herself. ‘Just because he is hot does not mean you should get to know him,’ she thought. They were also both reading the same book, Land of the Sea Woman by Lisa See, but that wasn’t another reason to introduce herself.</p>
<p>	The announcement that they should move their seats upright and stow away their trays as they were waiting to begin their descent into Heathrow Airport woke the attractive stranger. He blinked rapidly then flushed slightly as he met her gaze.</p>
<p>	“Did I…,” he wondered as he gestured towards her shoulder. His accent didn’t sound like he was born in the UK but she wasn’t going to ask where he was originally from.</p>
<p>	“Yes, but don’t worry about it. Stephanie Taylor,” she introduced herself in an effort to ease his embarrassment. He had a firm and warm handshake, she thought.</p>
<p>	“Leonard McCoy,” he answered. Stephanie rapidly let go of his hand when she realized she was still holding it.</p>
<p>	“So I take it you’re not a fan of nicknames like Len, Lee, or Leo?” He shook his head. </p>
<p>	“No, not at all. My best friend calls me Bones because of a remark I made when we first met. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get him to stop calling me that so I eventually just stopped protesting.” </p>
<p>	“I feel the same way about being called Steph. My brother is the only one who gets away with calling me that.”</p>
<p>	“So where do you work?”</p>
<p>	“I teach botany at the University of London. What about you?”</p>
<p>	“I’m a surgeon at Queen’s Hospital. So do you enjoy taking care of plants or teaching other people how to do so?”</p>
<p>	“I prefer getting my hands dirty over having to mark an essay. I think most of my students don’t realize that Wikipedia isn’t always a reliable reference source for Latin plant names.”</p>
<p>	“I had to learn Latin anatomical terms at med school, but nowadays no one speaks it. Soon English will be the most common worldwide language.”</p>
<p>	“Speaking of language, what do you think of this book?” gestured Stephanie as she held up her copy.</p>
<p>	“What a coincidence that we are reading the same thing. It’s great. I never really knew much about Korea before now, and the culture where the females dive for seafood while the men take care of the children is very unique.”</p>
<p>	“I agree. Though I’m glad that it’s more common to see men taking care of their children these days. I mean, fathers are parents not babysitters.”</p>
<p>	“As a father myself, I completely agree,” Leonard told her. Stephanie nodded. Although she could ask about why he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, that didn’t seem appropriate given that they’d just met. They fell into silence as the plane landed then taxied to their gate. Once they could stand up, Leonard turned to her again.</p>
<p>	“It was nice to meet you, Stephanie. Have a good day,” he concluded.</p>
<p>	“You too, Leonard.”  </p>
<p>	By the time she got off the plane and made her way to the luggage carousel, she didn’t have to wait much longer for her navy luggage to arrive. Once she was outside, Stephanie used the Uber app on her mobile to request a driver back to her flat. During the next week, Stephanie hardly gave any more thought to Leonard except in her dreams.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Two</p>
<p>	B is for Bird Feeder</p>
<p>	Leonard looked out the window onto the balcony of his apartment. His bird feeder hung from the roof right beside the icicles. At the moment the cylinder full of bird seed appeared to be quite popular with two birds feeding from it. His daughter Joanna had given him the feeder as a present on his last birthday. He didn’t know much about different species of birds, but he’d been told by a coworker that the small and very common bird he was looking at was called a British coal tit.</p>
<p>	‘Speaking of tits… Enough. You really need to stop being reminded about someone you hardly know,’ he told himself. With her red hair and slim figure, Leonard had thought Stephanie to be quite attractive when they had met on the plane back to London. He didn’t mind that she was shorter then him because most women were. That was a natural consequence of being over six feet tall. Stephanie’s appearance wasn’t the only thing he’d noticed. She had liked the same book he did. As she taught at a university, she was probably well educated and articulate. But she was also likely so independent that she didn’t feel any need for a man in her life. He’d never been great at estimating ages, but she had appeared to be a few years younger then himself. Thirty six wasn’t really that old but most days Leonard didn’t feel that he possessed either the idealism or energy of a younger man.</p>
<p>	Dating itself had certainly changed since he had divorced two years ago from his high school sweetheart Pamela. The thought of signing up for an online site or an app on his phone intimidated Leonard because of the amount of time he’d have to spend scrolling through so many profiles. There was also the question of how you could tell if the other person was being honest about themselves or what they wanted. He had considered matchmaking services, but ultimately he felt they were too invasive. The last thing he wanted was to go to a bar and talk to someone who wasn’t sober. He’d seen enough drunken flirting from Jim trying to pick up women that he knew he didn’t want to try that. As for speed dating, how in the world could you decide if you liked the person enough to see them again after such a short amount of time? No, the current dating scene wasn’t for him. At least he knew what he was doing in a hospital. That would have to be enough, Leonard reluctantly decided.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Three</p>
<p>	C is for Close Call</p>
<p>	Normally Stephanie left the university in enough time to get back to her flat to cook an early dinner. But that evening she’d stayed later in her office in order to read the second draft of a thesis from a grad student she was supervising. Robert was researching the history of the Forest of Dean by using DNA analysis of the flora, an analysis of the local ecology, personal interviews from nearby residents, and an analysis of the economy of the area. Princess Anne, serving in her capacity as the University of London chancellor, had recently begun to stress that more of a focus be placed on interdisciplinary studies with the classes the students took and the joint research projects of the faculty. Robert’s current thesis was a perfect example of that, Stephanie thought. </p>
<p>	She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she listened to an instrumental jazz playlist she had downloaded from Spotify last week. She’d been teaching at the university for seven years now, so she’d driven this road enough not to need the sat nav on this route. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she saw the blur of another car in her peripheral vision. She felt a sense of panic at their impending collision, then all she felt was a lot of pain. The restraint of the seatbelt and the airbags kept her in the drivers seat as the sound of crunching metal and glass overwhelmed her senses. Stephanie sucked in a breath. A moment later she began coughing up blood as she became aware that she felt woozy. Without thinking, she fumbled for the mobile beside her. It only took a moment to press the emergency call button. The mobile rang twice before the call connected.</p>
<p>	“You have reached emergency assistance. What is the nature of your call? Hello?” came a calm female voice. Stephanie tried to talk, but all that came out of her mouth was a groan of pain. Her eyes closed and she passed out as her head slumped to her chest.</p>
<p>	The next thing Stephanie knew, she woke up in a hospital bed. She wore a green hospital gown with IVs in both arms and various bandages over her body. She could feel another bandage wrapped over her head. Her natural hair colour was a cinnamon brown which she had never liked. After her breakup with Anthony, she’d wanted to try something different so she went and got a good quality dye job at a salon. ‘I suppose I’l have to get it redone now,’ she thought. Her thoughts about her hair came to a halt as she became aware of the form of someone sitting beside her in a chair. Her neck was sore so she only moved her eyes to see who it was.</p>
<p>	“Hi, Alex,” Stephanie croaked as she identified the worried face of her older brother. He slowly came into focus under the lights from the ceiling. She didn’t think they were meant to be that bright, she thought.</p>
<p>	“Hi. I came as soon as I heard. How do you feel?” he wondered.</p>
<p>	“Like total shite, but it could have been much worse,” Stephanie didn’t have to say that she could have been dead instead. She could tell from his grim expression that he was thinking the same thing. Both of their parents had died in a traffic accident when she’d been twenty six, so ever since then Stephanie had feared such a demise.</p>
<p>	“So do you mind if I stay at your flat until you feel well enough to be back on your feet?” he changed the subject.</p>
<p>	“Of course not, but you’ll have to sleep on my air mattress again,” she clarified.</p>
<p>	“You claim that mattress doesn’t have a leak, but I still think that’s why it was on sale at the shop. It’s a good thing to be thrifty but sometimes you need to spend a little more if you want something that lasts.”</p>
<p>	“Says the man whose wife loves Amazon because of their cheap prices. Speaking of which, how is Sandy?” </p>
<p>	“She’s fine.”</p>
<p>	“How are the girls?” Stephanie asked after her twin four year old nieces, Emily and Olivia.</p>
<p>	“They caused quite a ruckus the weekend before I left.”</p>
<p>	“What happened?”</p>
<p>	“You remember our cat, Peppa? They named her after that kid’s show, Peppa Pig.”</p>
<p>	“I remember,” Stephanie replied. Peppa was a cute British Shorthair kitten that had been adopted from the pet shop last Christmas.</p>
<p>	“Well, one of the other girls at their preschool claimed that was a silly name for a cat because a cat couldn’t be pink like a pig. So on the weekend, Emily and Olivia went down to Boots and bought hair dye with Sandy’s bank card. Once they got home, they put Peppa in the bathtub and dyed her entire body bright pink. She wasn’t pleased about that and neither were we because Peppa got the colour all over the flat as she used the walls and floors to try to rub the colour out of her fur. Fortunately it wasn’t permanent colour, so our cat will be back to her usual orange self shortly. To their credit, the girls did a good job of cleaning up the mess but for a punishment they have to wash all the dishes by hand for the next two weeks,” Alex explained.</p>
<p>	“That poor cat. Do you have a photo of this dye job?”</p>
<p>	“Here.” He swiped through a few screens on his mobile before he held up the phone for her to see. Stephanie laughed heartily at the silly image. If cats could glare, Peppa would be doing so in that picture, she thought. Suddenly she grimaced at the pain her laughing caused her.</p>
<p>	“Sorry,” Alex apologized as he put his mobile back in his right pocket.</p>
<p>	“Don’t be. I’m glad you’re here, Alex.”</p>
<p>	“Me too, Steph.” They linked hands on top of the hospital blanket and didn’t let each other go until the nurse came into the room to give Stephanie another dose of her pills.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Four</p>
<p>	D is for Date</p>
<p>	“Well Miss Taylor, you’re ready to be discharged now. Is there anything else I can get for you?” asked Leonard as he signed the discharge form and then placed the clipboard back in the basket at the end of her bed.</p>
<p>	“Can I have some coffee?” she asked. He nodded and walked to the hospital cafeteria to buy some. Once he returned to her room, Leonard noticed she had dressed again in a pair of clean scrubs with her purse beside her. Her street clothes had been seized as evidence by the police as they investigated her traffic accident. He handed her the warm cup.</p>
<p>	“Here you go. Before you drink, I should warn you that the coffee here at the hospital is terrible. Unfortunately, the nearest Costa is too far away to walk and not everyone likes Starbucks,” he rambled.</p>
<p>	“I’m sure it will be fine,” she insisted. She tasted the hot beverage and frowned. </p>
<p>	“You’re right, that tastes horrible,” Stephanie noted. She paused and looked up at him before she continued. </p>
<p>	“Would you like to go out for another coffee with me tomorrow?” Leonard raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>	“Do you mean on a date?” he wanted to clarify.</p>
<p>	“Yes. This isn’t about the gratitude I feel because you and the other doctors saved my life. To be honest, I thought you were handsome on the flight back to London but I didn’t mention it because I thought I’d never see you again.” It had been a month since that plane flight, so it took Leonard a moment to connect all the dots.</p>
<p>	“Now I remember you. It’s Stephanie, isn’t it? I thought you looked familiar when you came into the emergency room but I was so focused on what to do next that I didn’t think twice about it,” Leonard admitted. Before she could reply, the phone in her purse made a chiming sound. With a sheepish expression Stephanie picked it up and looked at the screen for a long moment.</p>
<p>	“I have to go now. My brother is waiting outside in the car park. Give me a ring on my mobile later?”</p>
<p>	“I will,” he agreed. Stephanie waved goodbye to him as she walked away. Leonard quickly took another glance at her medical file then put her number in his phone. As she wasn’t his patient anymore, he knew the medical review board of the hospital wouldn’t object to their relationship now. He had enough regrets already and he didn’t want to live with more by not pursing this opportunity, he thought.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Five</p>
<p>	E is for Easy</p>
<p>	Two weeks later, Stephanie still felt tired a lot more often then normal. The doctors at the hospital had told her that she couldn’t do any heavy lifting for another month. But that hadn’t stopped her from buying a futon from IKEA as she been unable to resist such a good online price. Alex had gone back home to his family in Manchester three days ago, but he had been right that she needed to replace her old air mattress. With a futon in the room that she used as a home office, it would also serve as a much more comfortable guest room for the few times she had other people over. She didn’t want to pay extra for delivery, so she’d rung up Leonard and asked if he could help with that. He’d offered to do the driving and the heavy lifting. Once he had parked back at her flat, she directed him carefully with the dolly so that the heavy flat pack didn’t impact any walls on the way to the guest room. Once he had placed the boxes on the floor, he turned to face her.</p>
<p>	“Do you need any help assembling this?” he offered.</p>
<p>	“No thanks. I’ve got that sorted. My colleague Saam has been helping me with my furniture for years. As a mechanical engineer, he says he enjoys the challenge of putting things together with shoddily written instructions,” she explained. Leonard chuckled. IKEA was known for their cheap prices but not necessarily their understandable instructions, Stephanie knew.</p>
<p>	“Thanks for your help today,” she continued after a moment of silence.</p>
<p>	“I was glad to do it. Well, hello there. What is your name?” Leonard asked as he crouched down and petted the head of her Labrador puppy which had come to sniff his feet.</p>
<p>	“I named him Comet because of how fast he runs around. I get quite the workout on our walks because he likes to lead me rather then the other way around. I haven’t figured out how to be stern with him yet,” Stephanie admitted as the puppy began to lick Leonard’s ankles.	<br/>	“So his big puppy dog eyes make him immune from punishment?” he wondered as he continued petting Comet. He was clearly at ease around dogs.</p>
<p>	“Not totally. When I saw that he’d peed on my sofa in the front room the first night after I brought him home from the animal shelter, I yelled at him until I realized it was ultimately in vain. But since then, I’ve let him out into the street a lot more often and my furniture has been spared from further incidents. Speaking of furniture, would you like a tour of my flat while you’re here?” Stephanie replied.</p>
<p>	“Sure,” he replied. Comet followed them as she walked though the five rooms of her flat. It didn’t take them long before they ended in her bedroom.</p>
<p>	“Your apartment is nice,” he said. She smiled at him.</p>
<p>	“So are you.” She reached for his shirt but before she could place her hands on his chest, Leonard wrapped her hands in his own.</p>
<p>	“Wait. I want to go slowly,” he told her.</p>
<p>	“Why?” wondered Stephanie. This was technically their second date so what was Leonard waiting for, she wondered. She wasn’t feeling up to sex just yet, but a kiss or two would be lovely.</p>
<p>	“I went fast in my last relationship and that didn’t work out in the end.”</p>
<p>	“What happened?”</p>
<p>	“We divorced after I found her in bed with my best friend,” Leonard bitterly stated. </p>
<p>	“I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it feels like to be cheated on,” she sympathized.</p>
<p>	“Who would do such a thing?” he asked in indignation.</p>
<p>	“My ex-boyfriend, that’s who. I found him in bed with his best friend too,” she revealed. He raised both eyebrows.</p>
<p>	“He was gay and didn’t tell you?” </p>
<p>	“No, Anthony was bisexual but I still wasn’t pleased at the deception. Now, how about watching something on Netflix before you leave?” Stephanie rapidly changed the subject.</p>
<p>	“Sounds good sweetheart,” he replied as they left the room.</p>
<p>	“Well, at least that nickname is not as bad as baby which always makes me feel like a child,” she remarked as they entered the front room.</p>
<p>	“Oh, I’m well aware you’re a grown woman,” Leonard replied as he put an arm around her waist. She smiled at him at the gesture. To her disappointment, he let go of her before they sat down on the sofa.</p>
<p>	“What would you like to watch?” Stephanie asked as she turned on Netflix.</p>
<p>	“Ladies choice,” Leonard said. Stephanie nodded and started the latest episode of The Crown, which was one of her favourite shows. Given his facial expression during the episode, she suspected that Leonard didn’t like it but he didn’t say anything negative. She was glad he hadn’t objected. In her opinion, life was too short to argue about things like a show on the telly, the YouTube videos you watched, or the music you listened to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Six</p>
<p>	F is for Fight</p>
<p>	A week later, Leonard found himself seated across from Stephanie at an Indian restaurant. Even though this was their third date, he still couldn’t believe his luck that someone so smart and good looking had agreed to go out with him. She had ordered the chicken tikka masala while he’d chosen the beef korma. Once the waitress had left, she turned to look at him.</p>
<p>	“So what do your coworkers think of us dating? Everyone I’ve told at work about us has been very supportive, though I promise to never tell them any really personal details,” Stephanie said. </p>
<p>	“I haven’t told anyone else about us yet,” Leonard admitted. She frowned.</p>
<p>	“Are you ashamed of dating a younger woman?” she demanded.</p>
<p>	“Of course not. The four years difference between us isn’t a big age gap. Why would you think that?” he wanted to know. She looked around the crowded restaurant and then lowered her voice.</p>
<p>	“We haven’t even kissed yet. There is going slowly and then there is moving at the speed of a glacier.” He thought that remark was rather unfair.</p>
<p>	“How can you say that when I agreed to see you again? Are you not enjoying spending time with me so far?” Didn’t she understand what going slowly meant, he thought.</p>
<p>	“I am but…,” she trailed off. He crossed his arms over his chest.</p>
<p>	“But what?” he prodded. She sighed heavily.</p>
<p>	“Do you want to be just friends or do you want to become lovers?” she asked. He raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>	“Isn’t the answer obvious?” he wondered. </p>
<p>	“Not to me.” </p>
<p>	“I understand that many people tend to sleep together a lot more readily than they used to. But I want sex to mean something other than just doing it because it is expected of me during a relationship,” he admitted. She stood up and leaned across the table to loom over him.</p>
<p>	“I’m not a slut, and if you can’t believe that then we have nothing further to say to each other.” </p>
<p>	Before he could reply, Stephanie had stormed out of the restaurant. Leonard slumped back in his seat as he realized that he’d implied that his girlfriend liked to sleep around a lot. Dammit, that’s not what he had meant. He just wasn’t used to the pace of modern dating, he admitted. Once the waitress returned, Leonard asked her to package the meals in a takeout container before he paid for the meal and walked out. He put the warm food on the front passenger seat and was about to walk over to the driver’s side of the car when he saw a bar across the street. One drink wouldn’t hurt, he told himself.</p>
<p>	Once Leonard had sat down, he ordered a bourbon on the rocks. Thankfully, everyone else in the bar could tell that he wasn’t in the mood for conversation and left him alone. Until now, he’d never realized how loud Stephanie could get when she was angry. Her outburst was the last thing he wanted other people to hear. After his divorce, he’d become more private about his personal life. But clearly he was out of practice in regards to woman as he’d nearly forgotten that after the honeymoon phase of a relationship, it was the reality bites phase where you discovered the other person had flaws too. </p>
<p>	The real question he had to answer was whether he wanted to give this fledging relationship a chance to grow. The reason he hadn’t told anyone about Stephanie yet was that he didn’t want a repeat of what had happened with Pamela. From the start, they had both been vocal about their relationship, both the good and bad. The only thing they hadn’t shared were the details of their sex life. But when things had gone south, everyone had given them sympathetic looks or advice which he hadn’t wanted and in fact had resented. He was a grown man and he didn’t need anyone else to meddle in his own life. He was capable of making his own mistakes and hopefully learning from them. Since the divorce, he hadn’t much of a personal life aside from his daughter. But after he’d started dating Stephanie, Leonard had realized how many people he knew who were likely expecting him to talk more openly about his personal life than what he was comfortable with. Was he prepared for what others would think if he continued to date Stephanie?</p>
<p>	Yes, I am, he decided. Leonard hadn’t felt drawn to another woman like this since the early days of his romance with Pamela. So now the only thing to do was apologize to Stephanie. He’d always been good at starting fights but never that great at apologizing, or at least that’s what Pamela had said. But this time, he knew the fault lay solely with him so he would be the one to make the next move.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Seven</p>
<p>	G is for Gorgeous</p>
<p>	Two days after her disastrous date with Leonard, Stephanie was looking forward to a quiet night in. Binge watching Netflix with a large bowl of popcorn and a glass of soda was just what she needed, she thought. Suddenly the front doorbell rang. She got up and reluctantly walked to the door. She rose on her tiptoes to look through the peephole which revealed Leonard standing on the other side. He looked nervous, which was the only reason she opened the door.</p>
<p>	“Hi, Stephanie. Can we talk?” he asked. She nodded and opened the door further so he could step inside.</p>
<p>	“Come in.” There was silence between them as Leonard removed his shoes and hang up his coat in the front closet. He followed her to the front room where they sat on the sofa. Stephanie maintained some space between them as they both sat down. Leonard absentmindedly petted Comet, who had jumped onto the sofa between them.</p>
<p>	“I’m sorry about our fight at the restaurant. I should never have implied that just because you’ve dated more then I have that you think about sex lightly,” Leonard got straight to the point. </p>
<p>	“For your information, you’re only the fifth man I’ve dated. In the past I was always faithful during my relationships. I’ve never had a one night stand either,” Stephanie told him. Honesty was the best policy right now, she thought.</p>
<p>	“You’ll only be the second woman I’ve been with,” he said. She turned to face him.</p>
<p>	“Really?” she asked in surprise. He was a handsome man and a successful doctor, so she suspected he wouldn’t have any trouble finding women to date.</p>
<p>	“Yes. You’re the first woman I’ve dated since my divorce two years ago.”</p>
<p>	“So will you compare me to your ex-wife?” she wanted to know.</p>
<p>	“Not at all, as the two of you are very different. To be honest, I should have divorced Pamela years before I did, but I wanted us to stay together for the sake of our daughter Joanna. After a while things deteriorated to a point where I realized that I didn’t want Joanna to only remember us fighting most of the time. Pamela wanted to keep our house so her lover could move in. By that point I was so worn down that I went along with everything she wanted except for custody of Joanna, which she also won in the end,” he explained.</p>
<p>	“That explains a lot. Look, I should apologize for yelling at you in the restaurant. I get loud on two occasions: when I get angry and when I’m in bed with someone. In other words, times when I have a very good reason to feel passionately in the moment,” she told him.</p>
<p>	“I get nasty when I’m angry or drunk. I only held back during our fight because we were in a public place and I felt everyone was staring at us.” </p>
<p>	“I see. Do you have any other flaws I should know about?” she wondered.</p>
<p>	“I’m grumpy even with coffee and I’m too stubborn to let go of anyone or anything easily,” he warned her as he moved closer. Comet jumped off the sofa to avoid him.</p>
<p>	“I don’t want to let you go either,” Stephanie confessed as she closed the gap between them. A moment later, she pulled his head down to kiss her. He readily kissed her back. Soon their kiss deepened as he gently pressed her into the back of the sofa. Once they came up for air, she placed her hands on his arms. Clearly Leonard wanted to be closer to her, Stephanie thought. The passion in his kiss just now had been unmistakable.</p>
<p>	“Do you want me to stay the night?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Do you intend to sleep on my futon or my bed?” she wondered.</p>
<p>	“The latter if you’re willing to let me.” </p>
<p>	“Is that going too fast for you?” she clarified.</p>
<p>	“I’m ready for more with you. Are you taking birth control?” Leonard wanted to know.</p>
<p>	“Yes, I’m on the pill.” </p>
<p>	“Do you have condoms?” he questioned.</p>
<p>	“Yeah, but let me check their sell by date. Why don’t you wait in my bedroom?” she said. Leonard smiled and quickly walked towards her bedroom. Soon Stephanie entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her.</p>
<p>	“My condoms are expired, so we’ll have to do without this time. I wasn’t expecting this,” she stated.</p>
<p>	“Neither was I. I came to apologize but I wasn’t expecting anything more from you.”</p>
<p>	“Are you nervous?”</p>
<p>	“A little. It’s been a long time for me.”</p>
<p>	“Me too. So let’s take things slow this time,” she said as she placed her hands on his waist. He nodded and kissed her again. Their tongues met as he moved a hand down her spine to the small of her back. While there was passion between them, there was no urgency yet.</p>
<p>	“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed after they separated.</p>
<p>	“Even with my scars?” she wondered. Before her traffic accident, Stephanie would not have said she was vain. But afterwards she was very aware of the multiple scars from her surgeries.</p>
<p>	“Yes,” he assured her.</p>
<p>	“Thank you. I think you’re quite handsome.” They reached for each other at the same time and came together in a long and deep kiss. One kiss turned into another as she pulled him towards the bed. Stephanie meant to carefully lay down but instead they ended up falling onto the bed with their limbs tangled together.</p>
<p>	“Sorry. You OK?” Stephanie wanted to know as she moved to lay flat on her back.</p>
<p>	“I’m fine,” Leonard muttered as he shifted his body to lie on top of her. As they slowly removed each other’s clothes and tossed the garments onto the floor, they also took the time to map each other’s bodies with their hands. Once they were nude, Stephanie moved her legs wider and reached a hand into his hair. Leonard took the hint and lowered his mouth between her legs. She groaned as he slid two fingers inside her. After she orgasmed with a low moan, Stephanie moved her hand to his chin and lifted his head.</p>
<p>	“Your turn,” she panted. She planted her feet on the bed as he knelt between her legs. As he entered her, they both groaned. Leonard gave her a few moments to adjust, which allowed her to relish the weight of his body against her own. Stephanie tightened her thighs against him as they quickly found a steady rhythm of movement. Soon, he suddenly stopped.</p>
<p>	“What?” she asked in frustration.</p>
<p>	“Pillow,” he panted. Stephanie turned her head to see the spare pillow beside her and reached for it. Leonard sat back on his heels and took the pillow from her. She lifted her hips as he slid the pillow under her arse. As he rejoined their bodies, Leonard brought his hands to her hips as she wrapped her legs around him.</p>
<p>	“That’s it … Don’t stop … So good…,” she encouraged him as they began to move together. Stephanie panted and gasped as their mutual pleasure intensified. Her hands caressed his back as Leonard picked up the pace. He lifted her hips slightly as he thrust faster. Stephanie arched her back as her hands gripped his shoulders.</p>
<p>	“Oh … Ah … Yes …,” she moaned. She was so close, Stephanie thought. Her climax triggered his orgasm as they both loudly cried out. Sated for now, Stephanie sank back into the bed. After he regained his breath, Leonard pulled away from her and turned onto his back. </p>
<p>	“Come here,” he requested. Stephanie moved until she was pressed up against his side. He threw an arm around her waist.</p>
<p>	“This OK?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Very much so,” she said. His body was so warm, Stephanie thought with appreciation as Leonard covered their bodies with a blanket.</p>
<p>	“Did you mind me being so vocal?” Stephanie wondered.</p>
<p>	“Not at all. I found it sexy. Why do you ask?” Leonard replied.</p>
<p>	“Because I had a boyfriend once who didn’t like it. He said it made him feel like he was watching the commentary on a football match. We broke up soon after that,” she reflected.</p>
<p>	“Stephanie, if you aren’t enjoying what we do in the bedroom, I won’t be satisfied either. Sex shouldn’t be one sided,” he told her.</p>
<p>	“That seems fair,” she agreed.</p>
<p>	“Good night, Stephanie,” he concluded.</p>
<p>	“Good night, Leonard,” she stated. She yawned and slowly fell asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat. To her relief, she discovered that he didn’t snore loudly during the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Eight</p>
<p>	H is for Height</p>
<p>	That evening, both she and Leonard were in the kitchen of her flat as he cooked them dinner. Shortly after their first night together, Stephanie had discovered that her boyfriend enjoyed watching cooking shows and trying new recipes he’d found online. Stephanie had no objections to that as she usually didn’t have time to cook anything more elaborate than a frozen dinner cooked in the microwave or bought in the deli of Sainsbury’s. He’d gently chided her over her unhealthy meals and had told her that he’d be doing his best to make sure that she eat better in the future. She had thought of protesting until she tasted just how good his meals were. </p>
<p>	“Hand me a thingamabob to stir this,” Leonard requested as he glanced down at the saucepan on the hob. She opened a drawer beside the oven.</p>
<p>	“You mean a slotted flipper?” she wondered. He nodded in agreement as he grabbed the utensil than quickly stirred the stir-fry. </p>
<p>	Suddenly he moved over slightly then reached up over her head for something in the cupboard above her. She’d always been aware that she was shorter then him as her head only reached his chin. Now she stilled, very aware of his presence and scent this close to her. He placed the soy sauce down on the counter and leaned over to kiss her cheek. That lingering touch made her smile to herself. Before she could turn to face him, his mobile rang. </p>
<p>	 “Dammit. Excuse me,” he cursed as he pulled away from her and bought the phone out of his pocket.</p>
<p>	 “Doctor McCoy,” he answered as he walked away into the front room. She stirred a small portion of the soy sauce into the saucepan as he talked.</p>
<p>	“Who was it?” she asked as he re-entered the kitchen a short time later.</p>
<p>	“That was the hospital. I have to go in now because of an emergency,” he informed her.</p>
<p>	“I understand,” she told him. Having him being on call for emergencies was one of the downsides of dating a doctor, she thought.</p>
<p>	“I’ll see you later. Have a good night and I hope you enjoy the meal,” he concluded as he put on his shoes and coat. With a final smile at her, he quickly left the flat. Once her front door had closed behind him, Stephanie returned to cooking the meal. ‘Perhaps I could stop by the hospital tomorrow and give Leonard some of this food for lunch. He’d likely appreciate the gesture even if he would probably be too busy for them to eat together,’ she thought. Besides, she didn’t have space in her freezer to put all of this food there, Stephanie realized as she turned off the hob and began to serve herself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Nine</p>
<p>	I is for Iguana</p>
<p>	Stephanie had first met Janice Rand soon after she had started her first job at the university as a teaching assistant. The other woman was a willowy blonde with an efficient manner and an elaborate hairstyle. The two of them had become fast friends, though they rarely spent time off campus together. Janice was one of the administrative assistants for the dean of science, so she heard all the best university gossip even though she remained relatively tight-lipped about it. Stephanie knew that she was a single mother with a ten year old son named Tim. But she wasn’t dating now. When she’d asked her why not, Janice had said that she had more than enough to be getting on with as it was without a man in her life.</p>
<p>	When Janice approached her in the cafeteria of the student commons building, Stephanie smiled and gestured towards the empty seat across from her. It was lunchtime so the other seats were mostly filled.</p>
<p>	“Have a seat. How are you?” she greeted Janice. The other woman nodded and sat down.</p>
<p>	“I’m well. Can I ask you a favour?” she wanted to know. Stephanie nodded.</p>
<p>	“It’s Tim’s birthday next week. For the last month, all he has been talking about wanting as a present is an iguana. I’m not against him having one and I know he’s responsible enough to have a pet. But there’s so many other things that come with getting a reptile. Can you help me with picking everything? You know I’m not fond of going to the shops.”</p>
<p>	“All right. But how many things does an iguana need other then a tank, water, and food?” wondered Stephanie.</p>
<p>	“I have a full list here,” Janice said as she gestured to her handbag. Stephanie chuckled.</p>
<p>	“Of course you do. You have a list for everything,” she said. Janice was the most organized person she’d ever met.</p>
<p>	“I know you don’t like lists but I find them very useful.”</p>
<p>	“Fair enough. Are you free tonight at six?” Stephanie wondered. Janice nodded. They agreed to meet at the closest pet shop to the campus and Janice walked away. Stephanie quickly finished her meal and headed towards her next lecture in the greenhouses on the outskirts of the campus.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Ten</p>
<p>	J is for Joanna</p>
<p>	Leonard was excited. The summer vacation was finally here, which meant he would be able to have Joanna stay with him until she went back to school in the fall. He tried not to pace as he waited for her to walk through the international arrivals doors at Heathrow.</p>
<p>	‘“Calm down,” stated Stephanie as she laid a hand on his arm. He glanced at his girlfriend. She appeared calm, but he suspected she was nervous at meeting his daughter for the first time. As Joanna was eight years old, she would be travelling with his ex-wife. Fortunately, Pamela wouldn’t come through the doors as neither of them wanted to talk to each other.</p>
<p>	“Can I ask you something?” Stephanie wanted to know. He nodded.</p>
<p>	“After your divorce, why did you move all the way to London?”</p>
<p>	“Because after Pamela took everything in the divorce, one country wasn’t big enough for both of us,” he explained.</p>
<p>	“That’s rough. So much for an amicable separation.”</p>
<p>	“Does any relationship end well?”</p>
<p>	“Not many do in my experience. I’m only on speaking terms with two of my exes, but that’s only because we have research interests in common. Otherwise, I’m quite happy to have nothing to do with them ever again.”</p>
<p>	Before Leonard could reply, he saw the dark hair of his daughter as she quickly looked around at the crowd. After she saw him, she smiled and ran towards him. He crouched down slightly and hugged her tightly. She’d grown quite a bit since he’d last seen her in person, he thought as she returned his hug. She pulled away and looked at Stephanie.</p>
<p>	“Hi, I’m Joanna. Who are you?” </p>
<p>	“Hi, Joanna. I’m Stephanie.”</p>
<p>	“Are you my dad’s girlfriend?” </p>
<p>	Stephanie nodded.</p>
<p>	“Good. He shouldn’t be lonely. Now where’s my suitcase?” she exclaimed. Leonard and Stephanie quickly located and followed her to the appropriate luggage carousel.</p>
<p>	“So what do you think?” Leonard quietly asked as they waited to pick up Joanna’s suitcase.</p>
<p>	“I’ve never wanted kids, though I like Joanna so far.” His face softened with a smile.</p>
<p>	“Yeah, she is great. But I don’t want any more children either,” he replied. He didn’t say anything further as he hurried over to help Joanna move her suitcase off the carousel. He wasn’t sure about the future of his relationship with Stephanie, but it was much too soon to be talking about living together or God forbid, marriage. He had no intention to ever marry again.</p>
<p>	“Dad, can you buy me ice cream before we leave the airport?” Joanna requested as they headed towards the taxi stand.</p>
<p>	“No, but I have some ice cream at home in the freezer.” She smiled at him.</p>
<p>	“You’re the best. Mom never lets me eat that. She says it will make me fat.” Leonard frowned.</p>
<p>	“Don’t you worry about that. You’re a lovely girl, Joanna,” Stephanie readily said. His daughter turned her head to look at his girlfriend.</p>
<p>	“So how did you meet my dad?”</p>
<p>	“I sat beside him on a plane. I was flying back to London from a conference.”</p>
<p>	“Really? Did you have to give a speech? I hate doing that.”</p>
<p>	“Yes, I did give a speech at one of the panels. But mostly I just listened to other people talk.”</p>
<p>	“What did you talk about?”</p>
<p>	“i’m a botanist, so it was about the biodiversity of the Amazon.”</p>
<p>	“I like plants. It’s so neat how they can grow from just a seed. Do you have any plants at your house?”</p>
<p>	“My flat isn’t big enough for many plants, but I conduct research at the University of London greenhouses. They have a large variety of plants.”</p>
<p>	“Can I see them?”</p>
<p>	“Unfortunately not. You have to be a student or professor to have access. But if you want, I’ll take you for a walk in Hyde Park. I once heard a talk from the person who designed that space.”</p>
<p>	“Someone planned that park?”</p>
<p>	“Yes they did. That job is called landscape architecture.”</p>
<p>	“What about Central Park in New York? Was that planned too?”</p>
<p>	“That park is one of the first examples of landscape architecture. Have you ever visited there?”</p>
<p>	“Yeah. Mom and I went to Times Square last New Years Eve. I went to the kids party in one of the meeting rooms downstairs while mom stayed in her room with Clay. He told me to not interrupt them, but I wasn’t about to do that. Even though he’s my stepfather, I don’t think he likes me that much. Oh, can we ride in a black cab? I want to ride in a double decker bus too,” Joanna said as one of the iconic London taxis stopped in front of them. Leonard allowed Joanna to sit up front while he and Stephanie got in the back of the cab. After the driver put Joanna’s suitcase in the trunk, they quickly drove off into the traffic of London.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Eleven</p>
<p>	K is for Kirk</p>
<p>	Leonard waited for his friend Jim Kirk beside the British Airways customer service desk in Heathrow. Because Jim was a pilot, they often Skyped, sometimes called or texted, but only rarely saw each other in person. It had been a strange friendship from their first meeting in Atlanta during his divorce. At that time Jim had been taking a motorcycle trip across the US and had seriously injured himself. The closest medical clinic had been the one where Leonard had been working. Behind the arrogant and cocky facade, Leonard had seen potential in Jim so he’d suggested that if he wanted to roam freely, maybe going to flight school would work out well for him. Jim had quickly seized on the suggestion. Soon he was flying commercial airplanes professionally. Shortly after Leonard had moved to London, Jim had quit his job with American Airlines and joined the staff of British Airways. He’d been touched that Jim had followed him, as the only other person he knew in the UK were his sister Donna and her family who lived in Liverpool.</p>
<p>	“Hey, Jim. How are you?” Leonard said as he spotted his blonde haired and fit friend. Jim had just disembarked from a plane that had recently landed, so he wore his sleek captain’s uniform and hat. He wheeled a small suitcase behind him.</p>
<p>	“I’m good, Bones. How about you?” Jim greeted him. Before Leonard could reply, Jim used the pilot ID around his neck to unlock the door behind them. They entered a posh and comfortable airport lounge. ‘Clearly British Airways treats their employees well,’ Leonard thought as he looked around the room. Windows onto the tarmac formed the entire south wall. The view of the surrounding airport ensured the space didn’t feel confined.</p>
<p>	“I’m well,” Leonard answered Jim as they sat down at a table and looked at the menu. As Jim looked more closely around the room, Leonard noticed his smile and nod in the direction of the two pretty female flight attendants sitting together across the room. He raised an eyebrow at his friend’s constant flirting. Jim wasn’t well suited to settling down and that showed no sign of changing anytime soon, he thought.</p>
<p>	“I’m curious. Do you really have a different woman in every airport?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“That’s what long stopovers are for,” Jim informed him with a wink.</p>
<p>	“Unbelievable,” he muttered.</p>
<p>	“Speaking of women, I’d like to meet this girlfriend of yours,” Jim said.</p>
<p>	“Sure. Stephanie is visiting family in Leeds at the moment, but the next time you’re in London we’ll arrange to meet you. Do you still play pool?” </p>
<p>	“When I have the chance. I’ve taken up chess recently, as it’s easier to play on the go.”</p>
<p>	“So where are you flying next?”</p>
<p>	“My next flight is London to Hong Kong as a co-pilot. We depart Heathrow tomorrow morning.” </p>
<p>	“Isn’t that a long flight?” Leonard asked. His knowledge of geography wasn’t as extensive as Jim’s, but he knew Hong Kong was a long way away from London.</p>
<p>	“Yes it is. That’s why there are two stopovers, one in Frankfurt and the second in Delhi,” explained his friend. A fond look came into Jim’s eyes as he mentioned piloting a plane. Leonard knew that Jim felt more at home in the air then anywhere on Earth.</p>
<p>	“Hello, gentleman. Can I get you anything?” the pretty waitress asked them as she approached their table.</p>
<p>	“Hello, Janet. My friend will have a steak sandwich with a side salad and a lime and soda, while I’ll have a club sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries and Sprite. Unless you’re offering anything else?” Jim ordered.</p>
<p>	“You already had your chance with me, Jim. From now on, you’re not getting anything that’s not on the menu,” she firmly replied as she wrote their orders on a small pad.</p>
<p>	“Tough luck,” Jim said as Janet put the pad and pen back in her apron.</p>
<p>	“I doubt you sleep alone unless you want to.” </p>
<p>	“When I’m not alone in bed, sleep is the last thing on my mind,” he told her. Janet shook her head and walked away.</p>
<p>	“Well, I’ll be dammed. Is there any woman in this lounge you haven’t slept with?” Leonard wondered.</p>
<p>	“The curvy brunette sitting alone at the bar told me that I didn’t have a chance in hell with her.” </p>
<p>	“Than she has some sense. Perhaps more sleep and less company would do you some good,” Leonard said with a critical eye as he noticed Jim appeared to be quite tired.</p>
<p>	“You’re not my doctor, Bones,” he scowled. Jim was fiercely independent and he’d never liked doctors. Leonard had always wondered why, but he knew his friend well enough by now not to pry about what was clearly a sensitive subject.</p>
<p>	“Thank God for that. If I was your doctor, you’d turn my hair completely grey in a few months,” Leonard declared.</p>
<p>	“I think you’re well on your way to that state without my help. But you also look a lot more relaxed then the last time we met. Clearly having a girlfriend agrees with you,” Jim noted.</p>
<p>	“Yeah it does. But I’m not telling you any intimate details about Stephanie,” he insisted.</p>
<p>	“Because you’re a Southern gentleman?” guessed Jim.</p>
<p>	“I try to be,” agreed Leonard. They fell into a comfortable silence. Soon their lunch arrived and Jim turned the subject to the latest Arsenal game. He didn’t watch soccer as regularly as Jim, but Leonard knew enough to follow the conversation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twelve</p>
<p>	L is for Lazy</p>
<p>	He and Stephanie were having a night in. In other words, they were watching Netflix and eating takeout Chinese in his living room.</p>
<p>	“That was a good movie. What now?” wondered Stephanie as the credits rolled onscreen. McCoy reached for the remote and turned off the TV. He turned his head to look at his girlfriend.</p>
<p>	“We could always make out like teenagers,” he suggested with a raised eyebrow. Clearly he’d been talking too much with Jim lately for him to say that, Leonard thought. Before he could take back those words, Stephanie straddled him. Without thinking, his hands came to her waist. She leaned forward to kiss him. Their hands roamed and it didn’t take long before both of their shirts were on the floor. He pulled her closer to him as his lips moved along her collarbone. Stephanie’s hands went to his jeans and he laid his hands on top of her own.</p>
<p>	“Condom,” he reminded her.</p>
<p>	“That won’t be necessary this time,” she stated. </p>
<p>	He nodded for her to continue. Stephanie moved his clothing aside enough to pull his erection out. She began to stroke his shaft as her lips explored his chest. McCoy tipped his head back in pleasure. His eyes widened as Stephanie moved her mouth down his body. He gasped as her mouth enclosed him and he gripped her hair. He did his best to remain still as she continued because he wanted to be considerate. Taken aback by the force of his climax, he called her name out loud. Once he regained his senses, Leonard moved his hands to her bra. He quickly removed it with help from Stephanie and then his hands moved towards her pants. Leonard brought his mouth to her breasts while his fingers delved into her wetness. It didn’t take long before Stephanie began to rock back and forth on his hand. He was pleased to hear her call out his name when she orgasmed. He drew his fingers out of her and rested his hands on her thighs. Stephanie leaned forward. They exchanged a lazy and tender kiss.</p>
<p>	“Would you like to stay the night?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Yes, I would. But if we’re going to get to bed, you need to let go of me first,” Stephanie stated.</p>
<p>	“I have a better idea. Wrap your arms around my shoulders and your legs around my waist,” he stated. After she had done so, he lifted her carefully from the couch. Leonard didn’t let her go until he set her down on his bed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Thirteen</p>
<p>	M is for Moors</p>
<p>	As she got off the train at Manchester station, Stephanie checked her mobile one last time. While on the train from London, she had sent a text to Leonard which read:</p>
<p>	Gone on my annual holiday. We will talk once I get back.</p>
<p>	Stephanie boarded a bus across the street which was bound for the Yorkshire Dales National Park. She would get off the bus at the village of Malham where she would begin to walk the section of the Pennine Way trail that lay inside the park. She took a seat in the back and placed her bag beside her. Ever year since she had started working at the university, she’d gone for a walking holiday. During that time she deliberately disconnected from the outside world. This time was more then a break from her phone, tablet, email, and social media. She also didn’t watch any TV or read any newspapers. The only entertainment she had brought were a few books. Although she knew Leonard would likely worry about her, she’d been doing this for years and so far she’d never had any problems other then sore feet her first year when she’d hiked through a national park in Spain.</p>
<p>	She knew not everyone would understand why she wanted to spend all day outdoors in all kinds of weather for a week with only a bag of hiking gear and food as she walked between different places to sleep. As a teacher, she spent so much of her time with other people that it was relaxing to be in nature where she could let her thoughts drift like the clouds in the sky. In some other countries she had walked through, Stephanie had travelled with a tour group of women as it had been safer. But even than, most of the other people in the group had been more interested in the scenery rather than learning about each other’s lives. </p>
<p>	Her love of the natural world had begun as a child. The only way she could be outside of the house was under adult supervision and so she often had walked with her mother Victoria. She had been the one who had introduced Stephanie to the vast footpath network all around the UK. Even now, Stephanie enjoyed cutting through a farmer’s filed or over a stile if it meant she could find something new to see. She didn’t have the time to map all the footpaths with GPS like some of the rambling associations did, but she wholeheartedly supported their effort to keep public land accessible for all.</p>
<p>	Once she reached the starting point of the trail at the top of Malham Cove, Stephanie breathed in deeply and smiled widely. Before her lay an untamed and windswept landscape. Although it seemed bleak, the rugged nature of the land had its own appeal. ‘I’ve never understood why Emily Bronte remains so popular,’ she thought as she began to walk. ‘Who needs to gaze at the brooding face of Heathcliff when you could look at this scenery instead,’ she asked herself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Fourteen</p>
<p>	N is for No</p>
<p>	He and Stephanie were shopping at the local Tesco for the ingredients for their dinner. Leonard had needed to go to the grocery store as he’d wanted to try a new Moroccan recipe tonight. Stephanie had only the basics in her kitchen, though so far he’d been able to manage with her supplies or bring his own equipment from his apartment. They hadn’t openly talked about living together, but by mutual agreement certain things stayed in each other’s apartment. He had a variety of clothes in her bedroom. In turn, she’d brought her own toiletries into his restroom. </p>
<p>	“Oh look, it’s on sale,” Stephanie exclaimed as she held up a large bag of candy in front of her. Whether she needed something or not, his girlfriend could rarely resist a sale, Leonard thought.</p>
<p>	“But you still shouldn’t buy it. What about your teeth?” he protested. </p>
<p>	“You’re right. The last filling I had at the dentist wasn’t pleasant. I suppose I can go without sweets this Halloween,” Stephanie decided. She tossed the package back into the bin and they resumed their walk through the grocery store.</p>
<p>	“How many kids did you get at your front door last year?” he wondered.</p>
<p>	“Only three all night.”</p>
<p>	“Yeah, I only got ten. It seems kids nowadays think it’s too unsafe to roam the streets.”</p>
<p>	“It’s probably the parents who think it’s safer to go to a party at a community hall instead. Speaking of Halloween parties, would you like to go to an adult one? The university faculty party is always fun.”</p>
<p>	“No,” he immediately said. She gave him a sidelong glance.</p>
<p>	“But I have the best sexy nurse costume.” He raised both eyebrows.</p>
<p>	“I don’t find that costume sexy at all. The nurses I work with are colleagues, not sex objects,” he growled. Nurses were professionals just as much as doctors, he knew. Why did they have to be seen as an object for sexual fantasies?</p>
<p>	“Of course they are, but a costume is just some harmless fun. Sometimes you have such a stick up your arse,” she claimed.</p>
<p>	“No I don’t. I’m not entirely old-fashioned,” he protested.</p>
<p>	“Really? When was the last time you did something unconventional?” Stephanie asked as she added a box of couscous to the shopping cart. </p>
<p>	“I’ve tried a lot of new things since we’ve started dating.”</p>
<p>	“I said unconventional, not new.”</p>
<p>	“Not all of us can be as spontaneous and impulsive as you are,” he declared as he added a can of diced tomatoes to the cart.</p>
<p>	“You make it sound as if that’s a bad thing.” He turned to look more closely at his girlfriend and realized he might have inadvertently insulted her.</p>
<p>	“No, I admire that you’re a free spirit. But there’s nothing wrong with planning ahead,” he clarified. She frowned.</p>
<p>	“Now you sound like my dad,” she muttered darkly. He looked up quickly at that. Before now, she’d never mentioned him while she’d been much more forthcoming about the rest of her family. </p>
<p>	“What is he like?” he asked gently as he sensed this was a sore spot for her. She crossed her arms.</p>
<p>	“My dad, John, was rigid, controlling, and inflexible. He was in the army, so we moved around a lot growing up. My dad took the discipline of his job and applied it to every aspect of his life. Every evening, he’d do the same thing at the same time. His date night with my mom would begin and end at the same time no matter where they went. When we weren’t in school, Alex and I had to keep to a schedule of various kinds of lessons. We only had one section of free time, on Sunday between church and lunch. So it’s not surprising that both of us rebelled once we finished high school. Alex became a lorry driver while I moved out and went to university. For the first time in my life, I could do what I wanted with my free time so I did.” He nodded and didn’t immediately reply as he placed a bag of chickpeas in the cart.</p>
<p>	“Well, that explains your dislike for planning. Most people use the calendar on their phones, but that is one app I’ve never seen you use,” he replied.</p>
<p>	“As far as I’m concerned, that app is there just to take up space. It’s about as useful as the weather app. I mean, you have eyes so if you want to know the weather you should just look outside.” </p>
<p>	Her lighter tone let him know he’d been right not to dwell on the subject of her father. Leonard nodded in agreement. The weather app used so much data that he’d deleted it from his phone. He didn’t want to pay for an unlimited data plan for his phone when he already had one for his tablet. As they went down another aisle, he turned his attention back to their shopping.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Fifteen</p>
<p>	O is for Outrageous</p>
<p>	Leonard’s grumbling as he browsed the Internet on his tablet attracted Stephanie’s attention from scrolling through the Facebook feed on her mobile. She closed the app down and walked up behind her boyfriend who sat across from her at her kitchen table.</p>
<p>	“Goodness gracious. Joanna wants the latest iPhone for Christmas, but that’s a thousand pounds. How rich does she think I am? I’m a doctor not an actor, dammit,” he complained. Stephanie scrolled further down the screen to look at the other phones.</p>
<p>	“That Samsung Galaxy phone is new,” she pointed out.</p>
<p>	“But it’s still six hundred pounds,” he protested.</p>
<p>	“Yes, smartphones are always overpriced. But what if we split the cost? Can you afford three hundred pounds?” He turned his head to look at her.</p>
<p>	“You do realize that joint gifts are a couple thing, right? Soon everyone will be talking about Stephanie and Leonard and asking us when we’ll be getting monogrammed towels.”</p>
<p>	“I have plenty of my own towels. So do you. As for being a couple, that’s what we are so why not? I can afford it if I don’t splurge on other things.” He smiled and turned back to his tablet to make the purchase. Stephanie walked away to the fridge. Speaking of being a couple, there was something she’d been wanting to try recently. Now was as good of a time as any, she thought.</p>
<p>	“I know you don’t have a sweet tooth like I do, but have you ever heard the expression that life is short so you should eat desert first?” she asked Leonard as she reached inside the fridge to the back of a shelf.</p>
<p>	“I have, but what… Oh.” </p>
<p>	As she straightened and closed the fridge, Stephanie saw Leonard’s eyes widen slightly as he saw the large can of whipping cream she now held. He quickly shut down his tablet and followed her to the bedroom. Afterwards they would both have to shower, but that was fine. It was too bad that her shower wasn’t large enough to fit two people at once, Stephanie thought. But she was hardly going to move out of her flat because of that minor detail.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Sixteen</p>
<p>	P is for Play</p>
<p>	“You need any help cleaning up?” Leonard offered as they both stood up from her kitchen table after dinner.</p>
<p>	“Sure. If you can grab the dishes and load them into the dishwasher, that would be great,” she suggested. They soon cleaned up the dinner. A moment later he felt a touch on his arm.</p>
<p>	“Tag, you’re it. Catch me,” Stephanie cried and quickly ran away. He hadn’t played tag since he was a kid but he wasn’t about to back down from a challenge, Leonard thought as he raced after her. Her apartment wasn’t big enough to avoid him forever, so it wasn’t long before she stood between his body and the TV.</p>
<p>	“All right, I surrender,” she said with a flushed face as she raised both hands.</p>
<p>	“Do I get a prize for winning?” he asked as he crept closer.</p>
<p>	“Of course not. We-” Leonard interrupted Stephanie by tackling her to the floor. They tumbled onto the carpet with him on top of her.</p>
<p>	“Leonard!” she exclaimed. He frowned.</p>
<p>	“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” She placed both her hands on his chest.</p>
<p>	“No, I’m only winded. But I had no idea you could be so playful.”</p>
<p>	“Well, you give me plenty of reasons to smile.” Before she could reply, he leaned down and kissed her gently. As she returned the kiss, her hands moved to his shoulders. He realized at that moment that he deeply cared for Stephanie. It might be much more than that, but he didn’t want to say those three words which he couldn’t take back just yet. At that thought, he pulled away from his girlfriend and offered a hand to help her stand up. She accepted his hand as they stood. They walked back into the kitchen.	</p>
<p>	“Would you like something warm to drink?” he offered as he pulled out two mugs from a cupboard.</p>
<p>	“I know you don’t like drinking caffeine after dinner, but I just bought some peppermint tea. Can you make us both a cuppa?” Stephanie requested. As he put the kettle on, she reached into the pantry and took out a package of cookies.</p>
<p>	“Do you want a Jaffa cake?” she offered. He shook his head. She pulled out two of the cookies and began to eat one.</p>
<p>	“So do you think Jaffa cakes are cakes or biscuits? After all, it’s quite a debate.” Given the teasing tone of Stephanie’s voice, he wasn’t sure if she was being serious or pulling his leg.</p>
<p>	“The name itself says it’s a cake, so what is there to debate?” Stephanie vehemently disagreed with him. Leonard playfully went along with their mock disagreement. It was nice to laugh and joke around, he thought. Some of his coworkers thought he was too serious, but he wasn’t always that way around Stephanie.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Seventeen</p>
<p>	Q is for Quiet</p>
<p>	Libraries were nosier places then when she’d been younger, but Stephanie found the stacks of the University of London library were usually quiet except for right before exams. She sat at a carousel doing research for her newest paper on the history of allotments in London. How had these lands, which were used to grow food for the local community, changed over the years? She was also curious how they had contributed to the movement to grow more local and organic food. Where did they get their seeds and funding from? How did they sustain themselves over the long term? Did they sell some their food or was it all eaten by local residents?</p>
<p>	Although she spent much of her time engaged in hands on teaching, Stephanie still needed to punish a peer-reviewed paper at least once a year. She didn’t write as many papers as some of the other faculty, but the old saying of publish or perish still applied. She knew that the university had to get their research funding from multiple sources. One source of donations came from the name recognition of their most well known faculty. Being a scientist rarely paid well and you were quite unlikely to end up on the cover of TIME, but getting your paper into a well known publication such as Nature brought the university both prestige and funding. After all, everyone needed to get a paycheque, thought Stephanie as she clicked on the index of the next online scientific journal on the screen of her laptop.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Eighteen</p>
<p>	R is for Romance</p>
<p>	Even after his divorce, Leonard considered himself to be a romantic. He just hoped his girlfriend appreciated the effort he had gone to tonight, he thought as he waited for her to arrive at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho. After the club, he’d booked them to stay the night at a nearby hotel. Stephanie was taking her own sweet time, he realized with a glance at his watch. Once he saw his girlfriend park her car, he walked over and opened up the driver’s door.</p>
<p>	“Good evening, Leonard. You’re looking quite handsome tonight,” Stephanie said as she got out of the car and locked the door. He was glad that Stephanie liked his grey suit and blue tie with matching dress shoes. In truth, he’d rented the outfit because he only had one other suit, which he hadn’t worn since his father’s funeral. He had no desire to think about that day tonight, he told himself. Once they were inside the club, he confirmed their reservation. The hostess led them to a small corner table. He stepped behind Stephanie and removed her thick woolen ankle length coat and matching scarf. As he placed them on the back of the chair, he inhaled sharply at what his girlfriend wore underneath. Her black dress was sleeveless and only came to her knees. With her high heeled boots she was almost as tall as he was. Discreet makeup and a silver necklace completed her ensemble.</p>
<p>	“You look as pretty as a peach,” he complimented her as they sat down.</p>
<p>	“Thank you. I have an overnight bag in the boot of my car. But why did you go to all of these expense? This club and the hotel for the night would have been expensive.”</p>
<p>	“Tonight is the first anniversary of when we met. I know we didn’t start dating until about a month later, but I didn’t want to remind you of the traffic accident or your time in hospital afterwards.” She smiled and placed a hand on top of his.</p>
<p>	“That was thoughtful.”</p>
<p>	Someone cleared their throat beside them. Leonard turned his head to see a waitress standing beside their table.</p>
<p>	“Do you two need some more time to decide on your order?” she asked. Leonard nodded and reached for the menu. When the waitress returned to their table, they were both ready to order. The meal went very well as they talked about various things. The food was excellent and so were the musicians on stage. He only had one drink of alcohol as did Stephanie. Alcohol had been a comfort to him after the divorce, but it had taken some time for him to replace that vice with something more healthy. He had no intention of going down that dark road again, he thought. After he’d paid, they both drove the short distance to the hotel.</p>
<p>	“Good evening. How can I help you?” asked the front desk clerk in the lobby of the hotel when they entered a short time later.</p>
<p>	“I have a reservation for tonight under McCoy,” Leonard told him.</p>
<p>	“Ah yes, the romance package. Everything is as you requested. I hope you enjoy your stay with us,” he replied as he moved away from the computer and handed Leonard a room card.</p>
<p>	“Leonard, which room did you book?” asked Stephanie in the elevator.</p>
<p>	“I got us a deluxe suite with a king sized bed and a jacuzzi,” he told her.</p>
<p>	“That sounds wonderful,” she stated. It didn’t take them long to enter the room and place their bags down on the floor. The bed dominated the bedroom while the tub in the restroom looked massive, he thought as they explored the spacious suite.</p>
<p>	“That jacuzzi tub looks big enough for both of us. Would you care to join me?” Stephanie suggested. </p>
<p>	He eagerly nodded and closed the restroom door behind him. As Stephanie began to run the hot water, he glanced at the two small bottles of bath bubbles on the rim of the tub.</p>
<p>	“Would you prefer lavender or mint?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Use the mint, but only put in one capful. I don’t want to get bubbles everywhere,” she decided. Leonard quickly poured the requested amount into the rapidly filling tub.</p>
<p>	Once the tub had filled about three quarters of the way, they both undressed and tossed their clothes to the floor. Stephanie stepped into the tub first with Leonard following behind her as they both sank down into the hot water. After they had thoroughly washed each other’s bodies and hair, he kissed her. As she returned the kiss, Stephanie pulled him tightly against her. Leonard decided to let his body say what he wanted to instead of using words. Once they had finished using the tub, a great deal of the water and bubbles were on the floor. ‘Well, I’m sure housekeeping has seen worse,’ Leonard thought as he carried Stephanie to the bed.</p>
<p>	“Oh, can we have some sparkling wine and chocolate strawberries before we go to sleep?” Stephanie requested as she saw the items on the nightstand on the right side of the bed. They eat all of the strawberries and had one glass of wine each before Leonard lay back and pulled up the thick blankets around their bodies. They both fell asleep quickly.</p>
<p>	In the morning, Leonard was the first one to wake up. Stephanie’s back was against his chest. He gently moved her hair away from her face and gazed at her nude body. He smiled at the enticing sight. She was still sleeping after he had used the restroom and walked back to bed. Leonard slowly lay back down in the bed and placed a hand on her hip. He began to kiss down her back slowly, beginning with her neck. She murmured but didn’t move until his mouth reached the small of her back. At that touch she gasped and turned over to face him. She moved her body closer until her top leg was draped over his hip. The sensation of her wetness pressed between his hips drove him to slide deeply inside her. Their sex was slow and gentle, even as they reached their mutual satisfaction with groans and gasps.</p>
<p>	After they dressed, Leonard led Stephanie down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The buffet selection was extensive. He choose eggs, toast, turkey sausage, a fruit cup, and a large cup of coffee. He didn’t normally eat this much for breakfast but he’d worked up quite the appetite, he thought. Stephanie had eggs, fruit, yogurt, pancakes, and orange juice. As Stephanie drizzled maple syrup over her pancakes, he was suddenly reminded of the time when they’d spread whipping cream on each other’s bodies and then carefully licked it off. ‘Stop it, man. Don’t think about that here. A hotel restaurant is hardly the place for you to recall lewd memories,’ he thought. He took another sip of his coffee only to discover his cup was empty.</p>
<p>	“I’m getting a refill,” he declared and got up. He really didn’t need more caffeine but he did need to focus on something other then sex. He wasn’t a fumbling young man in bed with a woman for the first time. But somehow his higher brain functions had been swept away for baser desires since this date had started. From their first time together, the sex between them had been great. ‘But that’s not all I want from my girlfriend,’ he thought. Stephanie was a great conversationalist too. He knew she took her work and their relationship seriously, but she was often light heated about everything else. That complimented his opposite tendency to brood, complain, and take everything seriously. ‘It’s strange to care for a woman because of how much she can make me laugh, but my life is better for it,’ he thought as he sat back down. Once they had finished eating, they returned to their suite.</p>
<p>	“So when do we have to check out?” asked Stephanie.</p>
<p>	“We have a late check out, so we don’t have to leave the hotel until one o’clock,” he told her. </p>
<p>	“In that case, there’s enough time for me to show you something,” she said as she walked over to her bag. </p>
<p>	“Oh?”</p>
<p>	“I’ll just be a minute,” she declared as she walked away to the restroom with a black bag. Soon she re-appeared in the room wearing a purple babydoll. The material clung tightly to the curves of her body before the garment ended in the middle of her thighs.</p>
<p>	“Do you like it?” she wondered.</p>
<p>	As he embraced Stephanie, Leonard hoped his enthusiastic kiss was answer enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him until her back was against the wall. She started to unbutton his shirt while his mouth went to her collarbone and his hands grasped her hips. As he moved a hand between her thighs and her hands caressed his torso, he was pleased to discover she wasn’t wearing underwear. Stephanie dug her hands into his back as his mouth moved down to her breasts. She remained still until she came hard around his fingers. While she was still panting, he pushed his pants and underwear down to his ankles. Leonard stepped closer and swiftly joined their bodies together. He was a damned lucky man, he reflected once he could think coherently again.</p>
<p>	“You gonna let me go?” Stephanie asked. Upon hearing her question, Leonard became aware that he was still holding tightly onto her legs as she clutched his back firmly.</p>
<p>	“Not anytime soon,” he declared with a smile. She returned his smile. He knew that wasn’t what she had meant, but he didn’t clarify his words. Instead he pulled away from Stephanie and helped her stand back up. He redressed himself quickly.</p>
<p>	“So I take it you wouldn’t mind a repeat viewing?” she said.</p>
<p>	“Not if we’re alone,” he said as he took one more glance at her from her head to her feet.</p>
<p>	“I’ll keep that in mind. Speaking of clothes, I should get dressed into something else.” He nodded. As much as he’d enjoyed seeing Stephanie wearing lingerie, he didn’t want any other man to see that, Leonard thought. He’d never considered himself possessive, but he knew he didn’t like to be second place.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Nineteen</p>
<p>	S is for Serious</p>
<p>	On the plane to Atlanta, Georgia with Leonard on Boxing Day, Stephanie reflected nervously that this upcoming first meeting with his mom, Eleanor, would likely have a big impact on the future of her relationship with him. She’d only met the family of two ex-boyfriends before. Her other romantic relationships had ended before they had got to that point. Leonard had never really talked much about his family before, but now Stephanie wanted to know as much as she could. She set down her tablet and turned to look at Leonard as he sat beside her.</p>
<p>	“So what does your sister do?” she asked. He set down his book and turned his head to look at her.</p>
<p>	“Donna is a network security analyst. In other words, she establishes and maintains the security of the computer networks of various businesses.”</p>
<p>	“That must be technically demanding work.”</p>
<p>	“It is. When I asked Donna what to download to secure my tablet and phone, she said that she doesn’t trust Norton Anti-Virus software but she does recommend VPNs, firewalls, and changing your password as often as your dentist recommends you to replace your toothbrush.”</p>
<p>	“Well, some hackers don’t care who they target. What about your brother in law Fred? What does he do?”</p>
<p>	“Fred is a realtor.”</p>
<p>	“Do you mean an estate agent?”</p>
<p>	“Yeah. It made sense to him, but when Fred explained his work, I was as lost as a horse that was galloping away from a fire.” While Stephanie understood most of the slang and everyday conversation of Americans after watching so many of their TV shows and movies, sometimes she was still confused by Leonard’s figures of speech. For instance, what did a frog’s skin have to do with happiness when frogs didn’t even have skin?</p>
<p>	“They have three kids, don’t they?” she continued after a moment’s pause.</p>
<p> 	“Yes, Joshua, Henry, and Denise. They’re all great kids, but Joshua can get pretty rambunctious if he gets overly excited.”</p>
<p>	“Why did they move to Liverpool?”</p>
<p>	“The homes were cheaper and they were both able to find work more readily in Liverpool compared to Atlanta.”</p>
<p>	“But the same can’t be said about the price of London real estate.”</p>
<p>	“Certainly not. I’d never have been able to afford an apartment of my own if I wasn’t working at the hospital.”</p>
<p>	“Speaking of medicine, didn’t you tell me once that your dad David was a doctor?”</p>
<p>	“Yes he was. He died of prostate cancer three years ago. Near the end, I hired a nurse to look after him at home rather than in the hospital because I thought he would be more comfortable.”</p>
<p>	“I’m sorry to hear that. What about your extended family such as aunts, uncles, and cousins?” Stephanie quickly changed the subject as she could hear the grief in Leonard’s voice when he spoke of his dad. ‘Some pain never heals,’ she thought.</p>
<p>	“My dad preferred to celebrate Christmas just within the immediate family, and we haven’t changed that tradition much even after he died. We only get together with the whole McCoy family at Easter. So how often do you see your family other than your aunt and uncle?” he said.</p>
<p>	“Both my parents died in a traffic accident when I was twenty six,” she told him. He placed a hand on her arm.</p>
<p>	“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” She gently moved her arm away from him as she really didn’t want to be comforted about an event which she considered to be ancient history.</p>
<p>	“It’s not something I care to dwell on, so I rarely mention it. My brother, Alex, is too busy with his own family and his work for us to talk often,” she explained.</p>
<p>	“What does his wife do?” Leonard changed the subject to her relief.</p>
<p>	“Sandy is a personnel manager at Greggs. She is always complaining about the high turnover of their employees but that’s common nowadays for most shops.”</p>
<p>	“Wasn’t their recent vegan sausage roll very popular?”</p>
<p>	“It was. I think it’s a good thing there are more options available for vegans and vegetarians now.”</p>
<p>	“I agree. But while eating a vegetarian diet is better for your health and the environment, not everyone is going to stop eating beef.”</p>
<p>	“What about meat substitutes like Beyond Meat?”</p>
<p>	“Those burgers are still not healthy because of the high amount of fat and sodium.”</p>
<p>	“So do you think there is no other solution for methane emissions other than killing all the cows?”</p>
<p>	“If you’re talking about emissions, what about the airlines? Should everyone start taking trains and buses from now on and not go on any more long flights?”</p>
<p>	“That’s not practical. You also have to think about all the people the airlines employ. For example, would your friend Jim be happy doing something other than being a pilot?” </p>
<p>	“Not at all. I know his job is very important to him.”</p>
<p>	Stephanie recalled what she knew of Leonard’s friend Jim. Shortly after Halloween, the three of them had met in a quieter pub and had a few drinks and snacks. She thought Jim was good looking, confident, and had a natural charm to him. She had done her best to be a gracious loser after he had soundly won both games of pool they had played. As the evening went on, she had sensed that he was used to charming most women easily but for Leonard’s sake, he had kept his flirting to a minimum around her.</p>
<p>	“While Jim does like the ladies, he’s more than just a charming womanizer,” Leonard stated.</p>
<p>	“How so?”</p>
<p>	“His dad, George, died in a plane crash when Jim was only a few months old, so he was brought up by his mom. She soon remarried a real jerk who treated Jim and his brother Sam horribly, thought I don’t know all the details. That’s why Jim was so determined to move out on his own and learn to control the exact thing that had killed his dad by excelling at flight school.” That explained a great deal about Jim, she thought. Everyone had some aspect of their past they would rather forget, she thought.</p>
<p>	“Is Jim a good pilot?”</p>
<p>	“I’ve never flown on a plane he’s piloted, but I imagine so. Speaking of meeting people, will I ever meet your aunt Rose and uncle Alan?”</p>
<p>	“If you want to come to Leeds with me this summer, I’m sure they would welcome you. But I should warn you that Rose plays an excellent game of bridge and so she will likely beat you.”</p>
<p>	“I don’t know how to play bridge, but thanks for the warning. I’d also like to meet your brother Alex and his family.”</p>
<p>	“Then come along to our Easter meal in Manchester. None of us go to church but we always get together for a big meal with chocolate eggs around noon.”</p>
<p>	“That sounds good. Have you ever thought about your family legacy in regards to your work?”</p>
<p>	“Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>	“Recently I ran into an old colleague of my dad. He’s retired now but he still attends talks at the Royal Society, which is were I met him. I was reminded by him that my dad David became a doctor because his dad Thomas was also a doctor.”</p>
<p>	“My dad, John, joined the army because his dad, Peter, had also signed up. But I’ve never liked the military lifestyle. Neither did my brother or my mom,” Stephanie reflected.</p>
<p>	“What did she do?”</p>
<p>	“My mom, Victoria, was a historian. When she wasn’t taking care of Alex and I, she wrote books and articles. She specialized in the history of Reformation Europe.”</p>
<p>	“They say that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, but some of the politicians we elected clearly haven’t learned that lesson.”</p>
<p>	“I know. At least after how badly Brexit was handled, every other European country will think twice about leaving the EU.”</p>
<p>	“Probably so. Changing things is always harder than leaving them as they are, and organizational change is no exception.”</p>
<p>	“So you don’t like the new Queen’s hospital funding committee?” she guessed. She’d read a news article about that in a local paper but Leonard had been usually tight-lipped about the subject. He sighed.</p>
<p>	“I’ve never met them in person. But I don’t like the fact that they are insisting that as many of the staff of the hospital who are available attend a yearly fund-raiser starting next year. Mingling with potential medical donors while I’m standing around drinking warm wine and eating indifferent appetizers is the last thing I want to do with my evening,” he complained.</p>
<p>	“Would it make any difference if I came with you?” she offered.</p>
<p>	“Well, I wouldn’t say no to that.”</p>
<p>	“As long as you don’t expect me to be your mouthpiece.”</p>
<p>	“Of course not. Except on rare occasions, I usually have something to say. That it’s not often what other people want to hear isn’t really my fault.”</p>
<p>	“It is when you’re so blunt that you hurt other people’s feelings,” she pointed out.</p>
<p>	“I prefer to think of my manner as honest frankness. Besides, would you ever want me to lie to you?” he asked as he placed a hand on top of her own. She looked at him closely.</p>
<p>	“Not about anything important,” she admitted.</p>
<p>	“I can answer the question of how your clothing makes you look. No matter what you wear, you’re beautiful to me.” She smiled at him.</p>
<p>	“Thank you. You know what I think about your own appearance.” She moved her hand to his knee and slowly moved it higher on his thigh. He stopped the movement of her hand with his own quickly.</p>
<p>	“I’m flattered, but I’m not about to join the mile high club with you.”</p>
<p>	“Of course not. I’ve never been interested in voyeurism.”</p>
<p>	“Then I hope you’ll understand why we can’t be intimate while we’re in Atlanta. I’m not comfortable with my mom or my daughter overhearing us in bed while we are a guest at her house,” he declared.</p>
<p>	“But-” she protested. He held up a hand.</p>
<p>	“Once we get back to London, we can spend New Years Eve alone together.”</p>
<p>	“All right. I look forward to that,” she conceded. </p>
<p> 	He let go of her hand and she returned her arm to the armrest. Before they could continue their conversation, the flight attendants with the trolly of snacks and drinks asked them if they wanted anything.</p>
<p>	At the international arrivals gate of the Atlanta airport, a petite grey-haired woman with the same hazel eyes as her boyfriend waved in their direction. Leonard turned his head and smiled as she walked briskly towards them.</p>
<p>	“Hello, Leonard. It’s so good to see you again. Merry Christmas,” she said.</p>
<p>	“Merry Christmas, mom,” he replied as they embraced tightly. A long moment later, the woman let go of Leonard and turned an assessing gaze on her.</p>
<p>	“You must be Stephanie. I’m Eleanor McCoy.”</p>
<p>	“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McCoy. Happy Christmas.”</p>
<p>	Stephanie held a hand out for Leonard’s mother to shake. She was surprised when Mrs. McCoy gave her a hug instead. She patted the older woman on the back awkwardly and they soon let each other go. Some women are naturally more affectionate, so that hug wasn’t necessarily a sign of her approval, Stephanie told herself. As they walked towards the car park, she realized that the opinion of Mrs. McCoy mattered to her more than making a good impression on the family of any of her exes ever had. That was because this relationship with Leonard felt much more serious compared to her previous boyfriends, she admitted to herself.</p>
<p>	 Stephanie wanted to think her and Leonard had a long future together, but the exact details of their relationship were still undecided because they’d never sat down and had a talk about what they meant to each other and what their future plans were. She’d never been detail-oriented about anything other than her work, and she suspected that Leonard might be reluctant to make a permanent commitment to a woman again after his divorce. So perhaps it was best to live for today and leave tomorrow to sort itself out, she thought. That’s the story of my life, she ruefully thought. At a remark from her boyfriend in response to his mom’s question, Stephanie turned her attention back to the conversation in the car as Eleanor drove through the streets of Atlanta.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty</p>
<p>	T is for Tasty</p>
<p>	“So what did you think?” asked Leonard as Stephanie finished eating. They were at her flat to celebrate New Years Eve.</p>
<p>	“That was one of the best meals you’ve ever cooked. Where did you find the recipes?” she wondered.</p>
<p>	“A new resident at the hospital from Tanzania sent me a text with a link to the website of recipes.”</p>
<p>	“Well, I think I will have to work out more often in the new year if you keep cooking like this.”</p>
<p>	“There’s nothing wrong with your body. As a doctor I can give you a physical to confirm that.” She laughed.</p>
<p>	“How long have you been waiting to use that one on me?”</p>
<p>	“A while. All right, it is pretty horrible. But believe it or not, I’ve heard worse pickup lines from Jim.”</p>
<p>	“Any woman who falls for Jim should know what they are getting in for. He’s the walking definition of wham, bam, thank you ma’am.”</p>
<p>	“I wouldn’t know. Both Jim and I agreed a long time ago to never talk about our sex lives.”</p>
<p>	“That’s a good thing. Now, is it midnight yet?” Stephanie changed the subject as they began to clean the table.</p>
<p>	“Not yet. Though you don’t have to wait until then to kiss me if you want.” She smiled at him.</p>
<p>	“I know. But sometimes waiting makes things even better.” He raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>	“Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?”</p>
<p>	“Very funny. I can wait if I have to but I just prefer not to.”</p>
<p>	“I suspect you would have failed the marshmallow test as a child.”</p>
<p>	“Isn’t that the test where you get given more marshmallows if you are prepared to wait or you can eat one immediately?”</p>
<p>	“That’s it. But I suspect psychology is not what you want to talk about.”</p>
<p>	“Frankly, I’d rather not talk at all. Come here,” she urged him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Leonard quickly pulled her closer. Why wait for midnight, he thought as he lowered his mouth and kissed her. She kissed him back enthusiastically.</p>
<p>	“Happy New Year, Leonard,” she stated when they pulled away to breathe.</p>
<p>	“Happy New Year, Stephanie,” he replied. She pulled away and took his hand. He followed her as they walked towards her bedroom.</p>
<p>	“I have something for you,” she told him.</p>
<p>	“Did you buy more lingerie?” he wondered.</p>
<p>	“No, I bought another sex toy. But if you don’t want to use it, let me know now. I kept the receipt.”</p>
<p>	“The last time we used toys was great,” Leonard recalled. He now fully comprehended why cock rings and dildos were so popular.</p>
<p>	“Yes, but this toy is something new.” He frowned and looked at her more closely. She was biting her lip, which was something he knew Stephanie only did when she was nervous but didn’t want to explain why.</p>
<p>	“It’s unlike you to be so reserved about sex. Is using this toy a fantasy of yours?” he guessed.</p>
<p>	“Yeah. What do you think about pegging?” she wanted to know. At the question, his eyes widened and he tried not to blush. He was a doctor for God’s sake, so he shouldn’t be embarrassed about any aspect of the body. Leonard cleared his throat which was suddenly dry. He paused to answer as they entered the bedroom and he closed the door behind them.</p>
<p>	“I’d like to try that. Just be gentle with me as this is my first time,” he admitted. She smiled widely.</p>
<p>	“Of course. You won’t regret this.” She kissed his cheek then quickly walked away to the closet.</p>
<p>	Some time later as they lay naked and spent on the bed, Leonard realized that Stephanie had been right. Goddammit, what they had just done had been some of the best sex of his life, he reflected. Maybe the unconventional could be occasionally rewarding after all, he realized. Suddenly extremely tired, he yawned and swiftly fell asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty One</p>
<p>	U is for Uneasy</p>
<p>	“Comet, no!” Stephanie cried as her dog quickly sprang away from her to investigate a dead squirrel on the ground. She yanked hard at his leash, which caused her to lose her footing on top of the snow. She toppled to the ground and cried out in pain. As she looked at the ground, Stephanie realized the fall had been so painful because there had been ice underneath the snow. Comet’s tongue liking her face momentarily distracted her.</p>
<p>	“Get off. What am I going to do with you?” she wondered. She flexed her hands and winced. As she looked more closely, she realized the leash had cut into her right hand and caused it to bleed. ‘I’d better clean myself up,’ she thought. It took a few moments to get herself standing again. Fortunately, she hadn’t walked far with Comet, so it didn’t take time to gingerly walk back to her flat. Once she had released Comet from the leash and removed her shoes and coat, she headed for the loo, which was where she kept the first aid kit under the sink.</p>
<p>	She carefully opened the box and was pleased to find Elastoplast, gauze, medical tape, antibiotic ointment, and Tylenol inside. She quickly tended to her hand and then swallowed two Tylenol. Her head was pounding, and she had bruises on her back, arse, and legs. She would be quite sore for a few days, she realized as she carefully sat down on the sofa. She reached for her tablet and quickly went online. It didn’t take long to register Comet for a dog obedience class starting next month. Clearly, she can’t afford to have an untrained dog any longer, Stephanie thought with a glance at her Labrador. She looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. With all this fuss, she realized that Leonard would be here soon for their date. While it was always a pleasure to see him, she wasn’t feeling up to doing much tonight. She realized she would have to cancel, she thought with disappointment. </p>
<p>	Using a tablet with one hand was something she often did, so it wasn’t long before she had rung up Leonard and put the call on speaker.</p>
<p>	“Hi, Stephanie. How are you?” came the voice of her boyfriend.</p>
<p>	“I took a bit of a tumble thanks to Comet and this weather. I hate to cancel our date, but I’m feeling poorly enough right now to do so,” she replied.</p>
<p>	“How badly were you hurt?” he asked in concern.</p>
<p>	“I’m bruised with a torn hand and a massive headache. I think I’ll use some sick days so I can have a lie-in. Don’t worry about me. I’ll heal just fine on my own.”</p>
<p>	“I know, but I’d still like to come by and check on you. I want to take care of you.”</p>
<p>	“Are you sure I won’t be a bother? You’re probably tired of looking after sick people after a shift at the hospital.”</p>
<p>	“It’s not an imposition. I’ll be over there soon.”</p>
<p>	“See you then,” she concluded and then ended the call.</p>
<p>	She got up slowly from the sofa in the front room when she heard the doorbell. She hadn’t given Leonard a key to her flat yet but maybe she should, she thought. Once she opened the door, Leonard came in quickly, which was not surprising considering the cold weather. </p>
<p>	“Hey, Stephanie. How do you feel?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Sore, but I’ll be fine soon enough.” </p>
<p>	“I’m glad to hear that. Now, I can see you’ve already seen to your hand and you’ve likely taken some painkillers.” He paused and reached into the right hand pocket of his scrubs.</p>
<p>	“I picked up this pain relief cream from Boots on the way here. Go to your bed and strip down to your undergarments so that I can message this into your skin. I’ll leave the jar with you. You can reapply the cream up to three times a day. The bruises should fade in a few days,” he continued.</p>
<p>	“Yes doctor,” Stephanie said as she realized Leonard saw her right now as a patient. He wryly smiled.</p>
<p>	“That’s never been a fantasy of mine, so don’t even think about it. But I am serious about applying this cream to your body,” he told her. She nodded and walked to her bedroom. She’d always liked Leonard’s hands, she thought as she undressed.</p>
<p>	She soon discovered there was a major difference between his touch when Leonard was focused on healing rather than arousing her. She knew he was a very skilled doctor as his surgeries after her traffic accident had saved her life. But now she saw that he really relished the opportunity to ease the pain of others. While she was glad that the cream did help to numb the pain, Stephanie felt somewhat uncomfortable until she realized that she wasn’t used to having someone else show her this much compassion. Her father had always been occupied with his rigid and highly scheduled life. Between her own work in the evenings and having to raise them, her mother hadn’t always had the time for her. She’d gotten on well with Alex, but he was four years older and a boy so there had been some things they would never have in common. In short, her family had never been this concerned about her after an injury or during an illness. Now that she reflected, Stephanie realized that neither had any of her previous boyfriends. Was this what being cherished felt like, she wondered. If so, it felt different than being loved.</p>
<p>	“You OK there? You’ve gone quiet,” Leonard asked as he removed his hands from her body.</p>
<p>	“That feels much better. Thank you. Can I ask you another favour?”</p>
<p>	“What is it?” he wondered as Stephanie got dressed in a jumper and loose pair of trousers.</p>
<p>	“Can you make me some dinner before you go? There’s a frozen pizza that needs to be cooked and I have some carrots and cucumber that should be chopped up.”</p>
<p>	“I will make dinner, but I’d also like to stay the night. I’ll sleep on your futon.” She nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>	After they had eaten dinner, Leonard suggested they watch a movie on Netflix. Stephanie found she really didn’t care for the action comedy, but she felt it was a little too early to go to bed just yet. But her body had other ideas and she soon fell asleep on Leonard’s shoulder. She didn’t even awaken as he carried her to the bedroom.</p>
<p>	When she did finally wake up the next morning, it was to find she had been tucked up under the blanket. As she stretched carefully, Stephanie realized that she felt a great deal better now. She spotted her mobile on her nightstand and reached for it. As she lay back down again and pressed her finger to the back to unlock the home screen, she saw she had one new text. She opened up the text from Leonard to read:</p>
<p>	Hope you had a good sleep. I’m off to pick up breakfast. Back soon. </p>
<p>	‘What a lovely man. I do love him,’ she thought fondly. Stephanie sunk back onto the bed as she was struck by the truth of that realization. Bloody hell, when had that happened? Should she tell Leonard about her feelings now? Nothing was stopping her from doing so, except for the fear that her feelings for him would change over the long term which would lead to their break up. She’d been dating Leonard for fourteen months now, which was the longest time she’d ever been in a romantic relationship. In the past she’d been the one to end things most of the time, as Stephanie didn’t like the feeling of being discarded as easily as a newspaper bought at a kiosk. Although she’d cared deeply about all of her exes, she’d only deeply loved her first boyfriend, Simon. But when his sister Rebecca had died and Simon had refused to allow her to comfort him, she realized he hadn’t let her into his life nearly as much as she had. After that breakup, she’d been more guarded about revealing the depth of her feelings to the man she was dating.</p>
<p>	She knew that Leonard cared deeply for her, but did he ever think about how he wanted to stay by her side no matter what for as long as he could? She had no idea of the answer to that and a part of her didn’t want to know. So it was better to keep quiet and not speak up until she had a better idea of what Leonard wanted from her in regards to their future together. Besides, she knew that those three words weren’t something to just blurt out. Saying or thinking them changed everything. Before she could dwell more on the subject, the doorbell rang.</p>
<p>	“I’m coming,” she called. It took longer than usual to walk there. She opened the door to find Leonard with a large takeaway bag from Greggs.</p>
<p>	“Come in,” she said as he took the food and drink out of the bag and placed it on the kitchen table. They sat down at the table and eat silently.</p>
<p>	“Are you feeling better now?” he asked after they had eaten.</p>
<p>	“Yes. Thanks for coming over,” she replied.</p>
<p>	“You’re welcome. Hello, Comet. You’ve been a bad dog lately, huh?” Even though his tone was stern, he still petted the dog which had now grown up to his knees since the first time Leonard had met him.</p>
<p>	“I know the streets are slippery, but can you take him out for a walk?” she requested.</p>
<p>	“All right, but it will have to be a short one. I need to buy some warmer boots today to deal with this storm front. I’ve never seen so much snowfall in London as what we had last night.”</p>
<p>	“Yes, we rarely get this much snow. But I suppose climate change means more extreme weather worldwide.”</p>
<p>	“Maybe so. I’ll be back soon. Come on, Comet,” he concluded. Leonard, his coffee, and her dog were soon out the front door. Stephanie took a sip of her own coffee. By now Leonard knew how she liked to drink it, black with one sugar, she reflected. Was there anything else he didn’t know about her other than the depth of her feelings for him? She would tell him but not now. Accepting just how much she needed and cared for Leonard would take some time, Stephanie thought.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty Two</p>
<p>	V is for Violets</p>
<p>	While she was responding to her email after lunch, Stephanie heard a loud knock on her office door. </p>
<p>	Grateful for the distraction, she raised her head and called, “Come in.”</p>
<p>	A slim brown-haired man entered the room.</p>
<p>	“I have a delivery from WestEnd Flowers for Stephanie Taylor. Is that you?” he asked. He held a tablet in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other.</p>
<p>	“Yes it is. Put them down there,” she told him as she motioned towards the corner of her desk. How lovely, Stephanie thought as she looked closer at the arrangement of purple and white flowers. Violets were her favourite flower and she’d always liked roses too. She soon saw a purple card and pulled it carefully away from the bouquet. Curious, she opened the card to read the message written inside:</p>
<p>	Happy birthday, Stephanie<br/>	Yours, Leonard</p>
<p>	She smiled widely. By this point, Stephanie felt she was also Leonard’s. She had him under her skin just like the jazz song. Before she could reflect further on the many wonderful qualities of her boyfriend, the delivery man cleared his throat.</p>
<p>	“I’m glad you enjoy them. I need you to sign here,” he said as he held out his tablet towards her. She set down the card on the desk and took the tablet. It didn’t take her long to sign her electronic signature beside the date of the delivery and hand it back to him.</p>
<p>	“Thank you. Have a good day,” he concluded. As he left the office, he closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>	As she didn’t have a vase for the flowers, Stephanie wondered what she could use instead. After a moment’s reflection, she remembered there was a large plastic jug under the sink of the staff break room down the hall. She quickly walked there and filled the container with water. Once she was back in her office, Stephanie carefully placed the bouquet into the jug. Despite how the flowers barely fit the container, she took a picture of them with her mobile. She composed a message to Leonard which consisted of the picture she’d just taken, the text thank you very much, and both a heart and flower emoji below that. She sent it to him than sat back down behind her desk and returned her attention to her inbox.</p>
<p>	Only a few minutes later, she received a text in reply from Leonard which read:</p>
<p>	You are welcome. See you tonight. She picked up her mobile and texted:</p>
<p>	I look forward to it. His response read:</p>
<p>	So do I but I have to get back to work now. She sighed and replied:</p>
<p>	Me too. Until then. </p>
<p>	Reluctantly she set down her mobile and tried to get her attention back to her work. Stephanie was glad she didn’t have any marking to complete as she likely wouldn’t have been able to concentrate as well as she needed to. As it was, a final read through of her presentation about green roofs was much less through than it would have been if her boyfriend hadn’t sent her flowers. Even so, her lecture tomorrow on the subject would be just fine, she told herself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty Three</p>
<p>	W is for Wet</p>
<p>	“It’s coming down hard out there!” declared Leonard as they stood just inside the front doors of the restaurant he and Stephanie had just finished dining at. They both looked out the doors onto what was shaping up to be an intense spring rainstorm.</p>
<p>	“My car is closer. I’m sorry that I left my umbrella at home.”</p>
<p>	“So did I, but neither of us are to blame for the weather. Are you ready to run?” At Stephanie’s nod, they quickly dashed out of the door and ran to her car. Once they had both sat down inside the car, Leonard turned on the heating as he brushed his dripping wet hair away from his forehead.</p>
<p>	“Let’s go to your flat because it is closer than mine,” Stephanie said as she started up the car. He nodded in agreement. Once they reached his apartment, they both quickly ran to his front door. His wet hands slipped over his keys, but Leonard was soon able to open the door. Once Stephanie had closed the door behind them, they both rapidly took off their shoes. Stephanie dropped her purse to the floor. </p>
<p>	“Don’t worry about hanging up our coats. Let’s get out of these wet clothes,” he said. The rain had been very cold.</p>
<p>	“Good idea,” she agreed.</p>
<p>	They quickly walked to his restroom where they took off all their clothes and then dried themselves with the towels hanging from the wall. Once they were dry, they looked at each other for a long moment before Leonard threw down his soaked towel and stepped closer to his girlfriend. She dropped her drenched towel to the floor. A moment later he took her hand and led her to his bedroom. Their cold bodies were soon tightly pressed against each other in his bed under the blanket. He inhaled sharply as Stephanie kissed down his neck while her hands moved from his shoulders down his chest. He wouldn’t object to warming up themselves this way, Leonard thought as he stroked up and down Stephanie’s back with his hands. Further conversation could wait until later, he decided.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Brownie points if any readers can guess which Star Trek character I modelled Albert after.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty Four</p>
<p>	X is for X-ray</p>
<p>	“Well Mr. Barr, I just looked over your X-ray results. They confirm that you have a compound fracture of the left arm. The surgery is relatively straightforward so you’ll be discharged by the end of the day. However, you must not lift anything with that arm for six weeks. After that time, your general practitioner can sent you for another X-ray to confirm that the arm has healed,” Leonard told the patient on the bed in front of him.</p>
<p>	“But Doctor McCoy, how can I work for six weeks in a sling?” the other man asked.</p>
<p>	“If you’re willing to pay the extra expense, I will write a doctor’s note for your employer.”</p>
<p>	“I’ll do that. Will I have to be sedated for the surgery?”</p>
<p>	“Yes. Once you are discharged, do you have someone who can drive you home? You can’t drive on the medication I will be prescribing you for the next week.”</p>
<p>	“My girlfriend, Heather, is waiting in the visitor’s room.”</p>
<p>	“Good. I’ll call a nurse to assist me with this procedure,” Leonard concluded. He paged a nurse to assist him. Mr. Barr had injured himself in a fall from the roof of his girlfriend’s house when he was trying to replace the shingles. Why didn’t he call a professional roofer to do the work instead, Leonard asked himself. All he knew was that most people who thought they could do every home repair themselves without any help often ended up needing medical attention.</p>
<p>	He was pleased to discover the nurse who would be assisting him with the surgery was Nurse Smith. She was one of his favourite colleagues, as she was smart, witty, and had a pleasant bedside manner that usually relaxed and reassured patients. But she didn’t enter the room alone. Beside her walked Albert Dreschner, a lab technician and Leonard’s least favourite colleague. Albert was tall and lean with dark hair and eyes. If Leonard had to pick three words to best describe the other man it would be efficient, rational, and brusque. Albert was also the most unflappable person he’d ever met, which got on every one of Leonard’s nerves. No one should be that calm all the time unless they were on a prescription of tranquillizers or meditating daily, he thought.</p>
<p>	“Doctor McCoy. Nurse Smith. I have confirmed that Mr Barr has blood type A. Do you require anything further?” Albert said. Doctor McCoy made a note of that on Mr. Barr’s chart and shook his head. Albert quietly left the room.</p>
<p>	“Doctor McCoy, Mr. Barr is fully sedated now. We can begin,” Nurse Smith soon informed him from where she stood on the other side of the bed. He nodded. Once the operation had concluded, Leonard sent Mr. Barr to radiology to get another X-ray, then he headed to his office for a coffee break. Leonard’s office, which he shared with three other doctors, was quite small. The room contained a coat rack beside the door, a small desk with a computer and chair against one wall, and shelves on the other walls with medical supplies stacked in bins. </p>
<p>	He’d just finished drinking a bottle of vitamin water when he heard a knock on the office door.</p>
<p>	“Come in,” he called. Albert walked inside with an envelope in his left hand and closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>	“Is that the latest X-ray results of Mr. Barr? Why did you bring it to me instead of the radiology assistant on shift?” Leonard asked him.</p>
<p>	“When I reached the radiology area, I discovered that Carol was on a tea break so I deemed it more efficient to bring you the results myself,” Albert informed him. Leonard nodded as Albert handed him the envelope. It didn’t take long for Leonard to confirm the break had been set properly. Mr. Barr would make a full recovery with time, he thought with satisfaction.</p>
<p>	“It is unfortunate that Mr. Barr thought he was skilled enough to attempt to fix his girlfriend’s roof without professional assistance. It is often such idiotic and misguided endeavours that result in people’s need for medical assistance. I would prefer to spend my time with patients who are not so careless,” Albert said. Leonard put the X-ray results back in the envelope and set it aside before he turned to look at the other man. Even though he privately agreed with Albert’s remarks, they were inappropriate and he needed to know that.</p>
<p>	“Can I speak frankly, Albert?” Leonard wanted to know.</p>
<p> 	“If you insist, Doctor McCoy,” Albert replied.</p>
<p>	“While I agree that Mr. Barr was careless with his safety and that it would have been smarter for him to call a roofer, I do not wish the circumstances of how he arrived in the hospital to affect how you treat him. All our patients deserve to be treated with respect, compassion, and dignity no matter why they arrive here.”</p>
<p>	“Are you implying that my people skills are lacking?” The calm way Albert voiced the question got under Leonard’s skin. </p>
<p>	“Yes, but I’m not implying it. I know your people skills are lacking because I’ve seen them firsthand. You are too clinical when you are drawing blood or requesting a urine sample. Although I recognize there is a need for some distance when dealing with patients, you should still be able to show some measure of empathy for people who were nervous, in pain, and who would rather be anywhere else than in hospital. I’ll admit that I don’t have the best bedside manner myself, but unlike you I at least understood the need to clearly explain or soothe a patient when I can. You are as impersonal as the machines you use in the lab. If you can’t remember that medicine is a combination of science and people skills, than you’re not suited to this job.”</p>
<p>	“Have any of my medical results been inaccurate?”</p>
<p>	“No, but that’s not the point. Clearly you’re not understanding what I’m saying.”</p>
<p>	“Perhaps that is because you are allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment, which is very regrettable.” That remark caused Leonard to see red.</p>
<p>	“Well, we can’t all be walking computers like you. Now sod off!” he yelled. Albert raised an eyebrow at the curse.</p>
<p>	“In my career, I have had the pleasure of working with many logical and rational individuals who were a credit to this profession. Unfortunately you do not fit into that category despite your medical competence. If you continue to voice hot-headed objections based on my manner rather than the results of my work, I will be forced to convey what you have just said to the personnel department. Good day, Doctor McCoy,” Albert concluded. He swiftly left and firmly closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>	Leonard relaxed his clenched fists and tried to breathe deeply, but that didn’t work well because at the moment he was madder than a wet hen. At that realization, he suddenly remembered what professor Symons from med school had told him just before he had graduated from Ole Miss: If you’re going to have a long future in this profession, you’re going to have to learn to bite your tongue regularly. Reluctant though he had been to heed that advice at the time, his words had been proven right on a regular basis since Leonard had started working as a doctor. </p>
<p>	Privately, Leonard admitted to himself that he had become more tense since he’d started working with Albert more often. But since he had to work with him for the foreseeable future, he’d thought that clearing the air between them man to man would make him feel better. But that had just made the situation worse. Goddammit, when would he ever learn to watch what he said? Then again, since he hadn’t learned to do so by now, he doubted he ever would. Maybe he should leave subtlety to other people who were much better at it, he decided. Leonard took several more deep breaths to calm himself down before he finally walked back to the day surgery area. He could now discharge Mr. Barr, which wouldn’t take long.</p>
<p>	 Once Mr. Barr left for the visitor’s room so he could be driven home by his girlfriend, Leonard paged for a nurse to prep the room for the next patient. Nurse Medved was the nurse who entered the room. She wasn’t physically intimidating as she was twenty years older than Leonard and only stood as tall as his collarbone. But because she had a mind as sharp as a tack and a will of iron, he didn’t dare disagree with her. Besides, Leonard appreciated that she had no tolerance for bullshit, anyone standing around idle, or any individual unwilling to work hard. </p>
<p>	“I hope the surgery of Mr. Barr went well, Doctor McCoy,” she greeted him.</p>
<p>	“Well enough. So will you be assisting me with Mrs. Walton’s hip replacement this afternoon, Nurse Medved?” Leonard changed the subject.</p>
<p>	“Yes. That procedure will take place at one o’clock. Have lunch while you have time and I’ll see you in room ten then,” she replied.</p>
<p>	He nodded and headed for the staff area on the first floor to clock out for lunch. Once he was outside the hospital, Leonard headed for the Subway across the street to eat, as the food at the hospital cafeteria wasn’t much better than their coffee. He’d only eaten there once but that meal had been enough to convince himself to never do so again, he thought.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty Five</p>
<p>	Y is for Yearning</p>
<p>	Stephanie smiled when she saw her mobile ring with a call from Leonard. She swiftly answered the phone as she leaned back on the sofa.</p>
<p>	“Hi, Leonard. How are you?” she greeted him.</p>
<p>	“I’m fine. Unfortunately, my sister, Donna, isn’t doing so well. All of her kids have the flu and Joshua is in charge as both her and Fred can’t take time off work. I offered to take the train to Liverpool on Friday after work and spend the bank holiday weekend helping her. Donna readily agreed to that. It was only after we hung up that I remembered we had a date on Saturday. Sorry about that,” he told her.</p>
<p>	“We’ll have other dates. I’ll miss you but I know you would feel bad if you weren’t able to help out your sister. Besides, you’re very well qualified to look after whiny, runny nosed kids.”</p>
<p>	“I guess so. I’ll do my best not to get sick too.”</p>
<p>	“You’d better not. Are you free on Tuesday after work to come by my flat?”</p>
<p>	“Yes I am.”</p>
<p>	“I’d wish you a good weekend, but it probably won’t be pleasant.”</p>
<p>	“Likely not. With all of the scientific advances of humanity, somehow we still haven’t been able to cure the common cold. I’ll see you on Tuesday, Stephanie.”</p>
<p>	“Bye, Leonard,” she concluded the call.</p>
<p>	When the doorbell of her flat rang on Tuesday evening, Stephanie rapidly opened the front door. Leonard quickly entered. </p>
<p>	“It’s good to see you, Leonard. How are Donna’s kids?” she greeted him as he took his shoes and coat off.</p>
<p>	“They are all feeling better and I didn’t get sick,” he told her.</p>
<p>	“I’m glad to hear that,” she said.</p>
<p>	“I missed you, Stephanie,” her boyfriend said as he walked closer.</p>
<p>	“Me too. Would you allow me to show you how much?” she asked. He swiftly nodded. She took his hand and led him to her bedroom. Once the door closed behind them, Leonard drew her close for a kiss which she eagerly returned. Between more kisses they took off each other’s clothes as they walked to the bed. By the time they arrived there, they were both nude. Stephanie got on all fours then leaned forward.</p>
<p>	“I want you now,” she demanded. </p>
<p>	A moment later she felt the bed shift as Leonard knelt behind her. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while his other hand went to her wetness. He entered her and began to thrust slowly. As she rocked her hips back, all Stephanie could focus on were the sensations of her nipples against the sheets, his fingers between her legs, and the movement of his shaft. When her orgasm came she cried out loudly. To her surprise Leonard remained hard once she had stilled. He moved her legs further apart then placed both of his hands on her hips. When he began to move again a moment later, his thrusts were fast and urgent. Stephanie moaned and dug her hands into the sheets. It didn’t take long before Leonard climaxed with a loud groan. Once he stilled, Stephanie turned to face him. He took her chin in one hand and raised her head to look at him.</p>
<p>	“Was I too rough with you? That was faster then usual,” he said.</p>
<p>	“I’m not fragile,” she protested.</p>
<p>	“I know. It’s just that my dad raised me to always think of the woman first before myself. He told me that I should always be a gentleman both in and out of the bedroom,” he explained. Stephanie placed one hand on his chest.</p>
<p>	“While I certainly appreciate your consideration, I would also like you to be more assertive in bed occasionally,” she told him.</p>
<p>	“I’ll remember that. For now, let’s rest. Come here,” he urged her. Stephanie moved until her head and arms were resting on his chest and their legs were entwined. Leonard wrapped his arms around her back. As they lay holding each other, they both remained silent. It felt very pleasant to cuddle with her boyfriend, Stephanie thought.</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Twenty Six</p>
<p>	Z is for Zoo</p>
<p>	As they walked through the display of Christmas lights at the London Zoo, Leonard smiled at the sight of his girlfriend and his daughter in front of him. Joanna was talking animatedly as she looked at the animals, the lights, and the crowd around them. Leonard was glad that he had custody of Joanna for summers and Christmas. Last year during the holiday, Joanna hadn’t need to come to him as he and Stephanie had been visiting his mom in Atlanta, he recalled. </p>
<p>	The three of them had just entered the Tiger Territory area when the spirited conversation between Stephanie and Joanna tapered off. While he was glad they got along so well, his daughter sure was a chatterbox, he thought. He saw the sign for the toilets and realized now would be a good time to make a discrete exit. Leonard touched the shoulder of Stephanie and leaned closer to her. She turned her head to look at him.</p>
<p>	“Stephanie, I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be back soon,” he stated quietly. She nodded. Leonard walked away. Once he was done, it took some time to relocate Stephanie and Joanna, but he did finally find them both at the end of the tiger enclosure. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about but it seemed to be a serious conversation if their expressions were anything to go by.</p>
<p>	“I’ll do my best not to,” he overheard Stephanie tell Joanna as he stopped beside them. Leonard glanced between his daughter and his girlfriend.</p>
<p>	“You’ll do your best not to do what?” he asked Stephanie. She glanced at him.</p>
<p>	“I’ll tell you when we’re alone,” she stated. Before he could react to that, Joanna placed a hand on his arm.</p>
<p>	“Dad, can we got to the Out of Africa area next?” she requested.</p>
<p>	“Of course,” he agreed. As they walked away, Leonard wondered about the rest of the conversation between Stephanie and Joanna which he’d missed. He had to wait through another hour at the zoo, the tube ride home, dinner, watching an episode of PJ Masks on Netflix, and getting Joanna ready for bed before he and Stephanie were finally alone.</p>
<p>	As he quietly closed the door of the guest bedroom where Joanna slept, Stephanie walked closer to him.</p>
<p>	“Is Joanna sleeping?” she whispered. </p>
<p>	“Yes. So what did you want to tell me once we were alone?” he wondered, also keeping his voice quiet. </p>
<p>	“What you overheard earlier was a promise to your daughter that I wouldn’t break your heart like your ex-wife did.” He raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>	“But why did she think you might?” he wondered. While Stephanie took a deep breath, Leonard tried to mentally brace himself for what she would say. It turned out not to be what he’d dreaded to hear but rather what he’d hoped for. She took both his hands in her own and titled her head back to look him in the eyes.</p>
<p>	“Because I love you,” she admitted. He smiled softly.</p>
<p>	“So do I,” he told her.</p>
<p>	Leonard let go of her hands and embraced Stephanie tightly. They held each other for long moments before he pulled back slightly. Stephanie lifted her head. A moment later their lips met in a passionate kiss. Leonard did his best to express all of his emotions through their kiss. When they had to separate, he rested his forehead against her own.</p>
<p>	“Will you stay with me?” he requested. He wasn’t just asking about that night, he thought.</p>
<p>	“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she declared. She moved to step away from him and he reluctantly let her go. As they walked to his bedroom, Leonard wrapped an arm around Stephanie’s shoulders. It had taken them two years to get to this point but he wouldn’t trade that time for anything, he thought.</p>
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